Pokemon Heroes Prologue : To Protect and to Serve
by Darren Xirias
Summary: (Prologue Arc, Part 1) In a world where humans are no longer, the Pokémons took their civilization for themselves. Enter Cody Sunders, Krookorible police officer in Castelia City with a lot on his arms right now: gang wars, corrupted colleagues, Dark-Type racism, a new drug hitting the black market. There is also this tiny thing where he somehow got the powers of Groudon...
1. Chapter 1 : Daily Routine (Almost)

**Hey, there guys ! How are you doing ? For my part, fine, so I thought I could treat you with the next part of my story. For those who didn't, I recommend you to read my other stories, ****Pokemon Heroes Prologue : Remembrance****, as it contains some elements of plot that will make understanding the situation of our protagonist better. However, it does contain spoilers for a part of the story (but not the end), so it's your call. If you're only dropping into the story as of now, here is a brief recap : Arceus, about eight decades ago, erased the humans from the planet, and the Pokémon took their place, rebuilded their society and use today all the tools humans used in their time, with some (expect the Pokeball, of course.) This story will take place before, during and after the events described in ****Remembrance****, and yes it is still a prologue chapter, inside the prologue arc, but this one will be longer and have more character development. And after this one, the prologue won't be over, far from it…**

**So now, I invite you to journey towards the world of Pokémon, with humans long gone...**

**Pokémon Heroes Prologue Chapter**

_To Protect and to Serve_

_Castelia City, year 79 after the Erasure._

Castelia City. Unova's grand metropolis and business center. Once, it used to be a place where everybody could live their daily lives without worrying about their neighbors. A place where companies would provide employment for those that were motivated enough, the very embodiment of what historians referred today as the Unovian Utopia. Or that's what Starck told Cody, a long time ago. He thought it pretty ironic, seeing the city he loved so much did, in the end, kill him. That and a rusted knife. Oh, and let's not forget the gunshots, too.

From an utopia, Castelia went down an endless spiral of corruption, hatred, violence and anarchy in the last decades, to become what every mon in his senses would call an incarnation of Distorsion World on earth. Cody thought that it wasn't the truth. Even if it still hit pretty close to it, nonetheless. He thought it was the gate to said World.

Because, when you're a Krookodile police Captain, you're riding on Downtown Highway at 70 mph, way over the speed limits, with your Lucario partner readying her gun, while chasing a Benezio Mileage (a very, very, very, _very_ luxurious sport car in the un-humanified world) driven by a drunk, obnoxious, lewd and possibly under the influence of narcotics rich boy, with cars around you that you must of course avoid because you're chasing the punk in the _wrong_ way of the road, well, let's say that you're thinking you're not getting paid enough for this.

"For the love of Arceus, that moron is mad."

The Krookodile's comment. Cody Sunders, Castelian Police Department Captain, in his thirties, blue police cap, jacket and pants forming his standard uniform. He was doing the driving, aboard the police car that was tuned by one of his contacts' loving paws to keep up with douchebags like the one they were chasing.

"Cody, I think we can stop him at the next exit if we form a barrage."

And that was Lena Williams, female Lucario about the same age, Cody's subordinate (she was only a Brigadier), uniform matching with her colleague's, readying her Sure-Shot-3mm. She was keeping tabs on the GPS embarked into the car.

"How are you so sure, Lena ?"

"I know the neighborhood, if we force him to drive through it, we will have field advantage."

"Got it." He then spoke through his radio. "To all units available, block the Highway near Exit 11. Not the exit, the Highway, we must force him to go through a residential district to make him slow down."

"_Got it, Captain !_" echoed someone's voice through the radio. "_We'll be here in two minutes !_"

"Great. We stay in contact." Cody hang up, and got his attention back to the road.

"We're going to do paperwork for years." said Lena.

"Hey, at least we can always force Leon to do it, ya know ?"

"Less talking, more driving."

As if on cue, they almost collided with a truck. Cody was rightly pissed, while Lena smiled cockily and mocked her partner, despite the fact they almost got killed.

"See ? I told you to focus."

"Next time, _I_ shoot and _you _drive, Lena." replied Cody angrily.

The two then went back to focusing on the road, the sports car in front of them maintaining the distance with them steadily. The night bothered Cody to no end, as the neon lights placed at both sides of the road were messing with his vision.

"Damn it, we need to admit, the guy is a good driver." admitted the Lucario.

"I know, or else he would already be in jail, and I would already have eaten my after-mission bagels."

"Looks like he messed with your title of best driver in town, now, did he ?"

"You bet the little punk did. I hope for him I don't get my hands on him, or else I put him at public interest works for a whole _decade_."

"Yup, he did mess up."

This conversation could seem strange, seeing as the two were sitting in a car driving in the wrong sense at mad speed on a highway in the middle of the night, but for the two cops, it was their daily job.

"The GPS is telling Exit 11 is in one mile."

Cody, upon hearing the information, spoke through the radio again.

"Are you done here ?"

"_We're in position ! We're seeing your blue light, Captain !_"

At Exit 11, the highway was doing a curve, with the exit in question being a straight road. So the fleeing driver couldn't try to force the police's barrage, or else he was too likely to end in a wall. Lena knew that, and that's why she asked for the barrage to be placed here. Said barrage was deployed with great efficiency, leaving no escape options to their target.

"Alright, Cody, I hope your driving skills are not rusted."

"My dear, I am a driving machine."

And then, Cody changed gear. The car, who already was fast enough, went even fatser, around 78 mph. Slowly but surely, the distance between the two policemen and the sports car grew closer closer. They heard a very loud and audible "Damn you, you cunts !" when the sports car driver was forced to take the exit, Cody and Lena on his heels. Lena spoke through the radio.

"To all units, cordon the neighborhood off ! He must not escape !"

Various acknowledgements sentences were heard. Cody turned to his colleague.

"So, Lena, what do we do now ?"

"We're taking our friend for a ride. Central managed to trace him ?"

"Yup, we're seeing his position on the screen at all times, now"

And indeed, they could see a red dot on the map displayed, moving across the streets as the sports car did.

"Awesome. Turn left."

Despite it apparently being a completely dumb move, Cody trusted his partner. He did so on the instant.

"If I plan this right, we can intercept it at the mall. Let's see where he is going… Turn right !"

He did so.

_Left ! Right ! Right ! Left ! Right ! Left ! Left ! Onwards !_

The ordeal lasted for five good minutes, before they arrived to a big plaza, strangely devoid of life at this hour, with a giant mall standing on their left, closed. In front of them, the passage to the highway was barraged, cutting their elusive driver's escape road off. Said driver that was getting out of the turf on their very right. He was cornered.

"I think now is the moment you shoot him."

Lena didn't say anything, and instead opened the window, and aimed at the car. Without summons, she shot at the fuel tanks, hidden by the red bodywork. Nonetheless, it was a perfect shot, and the fuel tank was pierced. It didn't explode, but that wasn't Lena's goal in the first place.

"For Arceus' sake !" shouted the driver, who they could now see was a Sawsbuck, wearing designer clothes along with a baseball cap, with an Espeon sitting next to him. Said Espeon was a female, and dressed very… lightly, to say the least.

"Surrender now !" shouted Lena through the car's integrated speaker.

The awsbuck only gave them the finger, and despite his fuel tank leaking at a quite alarming rate, began to drive toward the mall.

"Don't tell me he is going to do what I think he's going to do." said Cody.

"If you refer to the fact he is going to drive inside the mall, then yes, he's going to do it."

And indeed, not a second later, the Sawsbuck crashed the glass doors of the closed mall with his car.

"Come on ! Inside the bloody mall ? Who is this guy ?"

"Just drive, Cody !"

Soon enough, the engine started again, and began following the fuel traces inside the mall. Quite fortunately, the mall was built around a main alley, with a second exit at the other end. They saw the traces leading to it, so they sped up. Once outside the mall, they saw the Sawsbuck mad driver driving towards a very busy street.

"Cody !" shrieked Lena. "He's going in Mode Street !"

Mode Street was one of the four main streets in Castelia, joining the great plaza and the docks. And a pedestrian street with a lot of shops boarding it. One month before Arceusmas.

"Arceus dang it ! He's going to do a rampage !"

"We can't drive with so many civilians in there, it's even a pedestrian street ! We can't take the risk !"

"I know !" Cody snapped "I know, Lena ! I'm trying to think of a solution."

"_Captain ! We're ready to intercept the suspect at the other end of Mode Street ! Don't drive into the street ! We evacuated it ! The situation is under control !_"

"Thank the Hall you called." said Cody. " And that you averted a roadkill slaughter. He's going to fall into your trap right away. We're going to make a detour. Stay in contact. And congratulations."

"_Yes, sir !_"

The radio went silent, and Cody fell into his seat, letting out a tired sigh. Lena's relief could be heard as well, letting out a small sigh of her own.

"Damn, the little brat made us run. I'm so _fucking_ tired."

"Come on Lena. I thought you were more refined than that."

"Not at two in the morning after a chase, Cody."

"Meh, you're right. Completely out of subject, nice shot."

"Thanks."

Without a word in more said, Cody began to drive in an adjacent street, a non-pedestrian one. After a short while, he turned towards Great Plaza, in which he saw three police cars surrounding the sports car they chased all the night. The Espeon was truly afraid, her arms trembling from the commotion and the winter's cold, seeing as she was almost naked, while the Sawsbuck was shouting insults over insults and threats over threats.

"You'll see, motherfuckers ! You'll see ! My father is going to make your life a bloody Distorsion World !"

Cody suddenly recognized him. That arrogant face couldn't be mistaken with everybody else.

"Lena, looks like the mayor's son is basically telling us to go fuck off."

"Don't tell me we just arrested Aleister Dowell. Aleister _fucking_ Dowell"

"We did, my dear partner. Looks like daddy's son decided to go wild tonight."

Cody laughed.

"You don't know how I wanted to make that moron shut up the first time I saw him at the mayor's gala. And he just gave me the perfect reason to do so tonight."

"Is he really that much of an ass ?"

"You have no idea. He's almost as good than Leon."

"So, he is an Olympic Champion in being an ass. Well, looks like you're going to enjoy yourself at the questioning."

Lena yawned.

"Officer, I'm giving you the night off. You're way too tired to be of any use right now."

"Thank you, Cody. I thought I would never sleep tonight. You're an angel. Will you come back into Tucker's car ? I saw him over there."

She pointed to the group of policemen circling Aleister, and sure enough, Tucker was here. Cody nodded.

"I'm leaving you this one. Go take some rest. For my part I'm going to do a little extra work tonight."

"Alright. Have fun. And don't scare him too much, I'm sure he's just drunk."

The adrenaline rush was now over, and Lena just showed how tired she was. Cody got out the car, while Lena took the driver's place. While she began to drive back towards the police station, Cody walked towards the other cops.

"You'll be all fired ! All of you !"

"Now, now, Mister Dowell. You shouldn't say such foul sentences. I'm sure we can settle it like gentlemen."

Cody sighed mentally when he heard this voice. Rob Tucker, Ledian, married, father of two children, and unreasonable optimist. Cody never knew how such a shy and gentle man survived in Castelia, but he was fond of the man. Tucker was actually one of Cody's men, working in his unit.

"Sorry, Rob, but looks like to me you won't."

Cody couldn't help but smile when he saw Tucker's expression turning from surprise to happiness about seeing his superior coming to the rescue. He wore the same standard uniform than all the other cops of the Department, although he took out his cap.

"Cody ! Erm, Captain !"

Cody knew with this sentence that something was not good. Even in front of other cops from other units, Tucker's status as one of Cody's subordinate never bothered him to call his boss by his name like a friend, which he was. Expect in front of one of them. Someone that hated their guts, to Cody's whole unit, and very close to their boss. And sure enough, here he was.

Leon.

"It's all good, Rob. I'll take care of him."

Cody's voice was collected, but inside he could only refrain the scorn he held for the Sylveon Captain that was his colleague.

Greedy, liar, borderline sadist (judging from rumors he heard) and corrupted down the core, Leon Greyfield, was an asshole. Because of him, several missions went wrong, the reason being money changing hands, and generally with him in between taking his commission. Cody knew he was calculating right now how much benefit he could make of this situation. Nonetheless, Cody was the officer in charge of the whole operation, so he could take Aleister to the station and begin questioning him, as well as putting him in detention. To his surprise, Leon didn't try to stop him or to infer in some way when he asked this.

"Sure enough. You're better at this than everyone else. I'm calling central during this time."

The Sylveon was also wearing the uniform, although in Cody's eyes, he dishonored it on a daily basis. The bows typical of his species were cut down partially to allow more movement during gunfights. To sum up Tucker's point of view, he was a demon incarnated in a cute-looking species of Pokemon. But Cody saw what was in his eyes. And it was nothing cute

Cody only nodded, and told Tucker to start the engine. He took the handcuffed Sawsbuck with him inside Tucker's car, while the latter began to drive to the police station. Through the window, Cody could see Leon phoning to the central, probably to Captain Darius himself. And his smile announced nothing good for Cody.

*o*o*o*o*

_Castelia Police Department Station_

_Castelia City_

Cody and Aleister were inside an interrogation room. The Sawsbuck was handcuffed to the table, while Cody was sitting on a chair in front of him. He only entered the room minutes ago, and has been silent the entire time. Aleister's queries, about calling his father, his advocate, or asking a martini, were silented soon enough. Only when Cody's staring became a bit too much for his victim did he began to talk.

"I won't lie to you Dowell, the charges are pretty heavy. You were caught driving way above the speed limitations, drunk, drugged, and all the while telling me to go suck my dick. So, to be honest with you, I am imperially pissed.

You're not at the mayor's residence. You're not with your father. It's just you. The young little punk. And me. The cop said little punk annoyed to no end. And if you ask me once again to go fetch you a bloody martini, I'm calling the kingpin you stole that poor prostitute from, yes I know his number, don't make that face.

I don't know who gave you the drug we saw in your blood tests' results. But I care. Cause it was AML-55. This drug appeared almost like magic one day, and suddenly, every gang thug in the city tried it. But I know it is hard to get. So, I will ask you a single question, Aleister. If you answer me, you're out of here. Nobody will ever know about your little run tonight. Not even that kingpin. So here is my question : Who provide AML-55 ?

"I don't know."

"The lie detector that communicates me its data just told me you're lying."

"You got a lie detector ?"

"Yes. Who provide it, Dowell ? Answer me, or else I'll become even more pissed off than I am."

"I won't speak. I… I can't."

Now Cody paused. Of course the Department couldn't afford a lie detector, but Cody knew well enough who lied and who didn't. In fact, he could tell which emotion could pass by his 'client's' head. And inside the Sawsbuck's head, he saw genuine fear. He needed to change strategy.

"I'm offering you a fair deal, no ?" said Cody in a lot smoother voice. "You just answer my question, and you get out. No one will ever know. You just got to tell me who is the bastard that tries to flood the city with this shit."

"I. Won't. Speak."

"You're afraid."

"I'm not afraid !" shouted the Sawsbuck. "I'm just loyal."

"Loyalty. Humph. If it was of your pals we were speaking, I could understand why would you be loyal towards them. But here, I'm talking about someone, or someones, that sold you that drug. And judging by how you handled the effects tonight, I guess it's the first time you ever tried it. You probably met the dealers only once. You're not loyal, you're scared."

"I. Am not. Scared !" said Aleister defiantly.

"YOU ARE !" shouted the Krookorible. "YOU ARE SHITTING IN YOUR PANTS ! I'M ASKING YOU TO BLOODY TELL ME WHO IS THE DEALER SO I CAN TRY TO SAVE LIFES BY DISMENTLING THE NETWORK, AND HERE YOU ARE, TALKING ABOUT LOYALTY !"

Cody sighed a little, and then continued with a lower voice :

"You're not loyal. You're not loyal to your country, to your city, to justice. If you were truly loyal towards your equals, towards your co-citizens, you would tell me who is the dealer of one of the most dangerous drugs ever registered ! So, what will you be ? A coward rotting into a cell ? Or someone that got the guts to at least try to make the world a better place, even by a small margin ?"

Cody almost smirked when he saw Dowell's expression. He bought it. Cody always knew how to take delinquents back on the right path. He was sure Dowell was going to spit the name anytime soon.

"I… I will say it. I'm not a coward."

"Glad to hear this." said the police captain with a happy tone. "You made the right decision. Who is the dealer ?"

"I'm not in danger, huh ? If I say the name, nobody will hear it expect you ? He won't kill me ?"

"So it's a he ? And I assure you, your name will never appear on the register. You can trust me."

"Alright." When he wasn't actually drunk and trying to act cocky, Cody thought Aleister was surprisingly nice.

"The dealer is Kark-

Someone banged at the door.

"Sunders ! Let out Mr Dowell ! Now !"

Cody recognized it as Darius's voice. Captain Darius. His boss. Who very likely prevented him to know the dealer's name. Before Cody could even move, Darius opened the door, and entered. Darius Miller was a Heracross, fourty-five years old, and was one of the reasons Catelia Police ran this bad nowadays. His corruption didn't help in the slightest of course. He wore his uniform, with his insignia on it that marked him as Captain in chief.

"There has been a slight misunderstanding. Mr Dowell drove a car the exact model than the delinquent's."

"What ? Darius, you can't be serious. Leon and Tucker must have shown you the footage."

Only then, however, did he notice another Sawsbuck besides the door, wearing a business suit. Grim, severe and furious, Cody recognized him as Mortimer Dowell. Castelia's mayor and Aleister's son. Cody also noticed Darius' right pocket. With a whole batch of 200 Pokés bills hanging out of it.

"I am, Sunders. The culprit is an Umbreon living in the slums that stole a Benezio Mileage very much like Mr Dowell's one. We even found the impact your colleague did by shooting into the fuel tank. Mr Dowell is innocent."

"The lab declared him positive to AML-55, damn it !"

Mortimer and Darius were taken aback by this. They weren't expecting this one.

"So, with all due respect, mayor sir, I'll be leaving you with your son once he told me who procured him that shit."

"Sunders, if you don't drop the charges, all of them, _now_, I'm firing you."

Cody stopped dead in his tracks. He knew Darius would do it without a second thought, and he knew he couldn't afford this. The Police was falling apart, and he and his men were the only ones that still tried to make the law be respected in the whole city. And to top it all, he couldn't be fired because he couldn't find another job. He was a Dark-Type. Starck took him under his metaphorical wings despite his less open-minded colleagues, and Cody has been _really_ lucky with that. He knew if he got fired, he could as well pack his things and fly back to Hoenn.

_I hate to do this, Starck. I'm sorry. But I have to, or else, this city might as well be doomed._

With a sigh, Cody talked once again. And said something that was deeply against his convictions, but that he had to do.

"I'm sorry for taking your time, Mr Dowell. It appears you are innocent of the charges I put. You're free to go."

Cody freed him during his sentence, and Aleister walked towards his father, who looked less than happy. To the general surprise, however, Mortimer talked to Cody.

"Mr Sunders, is it ? I would like to talk with you after I'm done with my son. In private. Mr Darius, I trust there is no problem if, for this, I borrow a room ?"

"No, no… Absolutely not, Mr Dowell. The conference room will be perfect for this."

"Great. I think you should take some rest, Mr Darius. Oh, and I believe that Umbreon will not be treated too harshly, hum ? I'm sure he only tried to steal the car to sell it and buy food for his family. Just give him a warning. That would make me happy."

"If… If you think that is best, Mr Dowell. Good night."

And on those words, the Heracross departed, while indicating them the conference room. Cody was asked politely but firmly to wait out. Turned out it was with reason, as he could heard the mayor's fury even behind the soundproof walls. He managed to hear some words like 'fool, mad, stupid, grounded', and something along the lines of the Benezio Mileage being disposed of and him finally taking his responsabilities. After this, Aleister got out, vexed, while his father motioned for Cody to come in. The latter closed the door, and only then did the mayor sat on a chair and made a tired sigh.

"I'm sorry you had to see this whole mess, Mr Sunders. I promise my son will be punished to the height of his fault."

"The right punishment should have been decided by the law, sir."

Cody's reply was so full of anger and causticity, one could knife through it.

"I know, and I am deeply sorry for stepping so low as to pay that fiend pretending himself to be a Pokémon for letting my son, but I needed to. A trial, and his dealer would have make his life forfeit."

"Huh ? You bribed us to save your son's life ?"

"Exactly, although I'm sure this fool only thought about his purse. But I couldn't allow my son to appear on the newspaper. I don't know who is the dealer, but I know from my son he is wealthy enough to hire assassins as he wish."

"I guess I was expecting less noble intentions, especially from a politician."

Mortimer laughed.

"At last, someone that's not afraid to tell me things I don't like to hear. I could use men like you into the administration's committee. Only morons, sloths and cowards that would rather die than admit this city is going nuts. And yes, I hate this whole situation as much as you do. I saw how it cost you to allow my son to get away with his infraction. You couldn't fight because, due to your Type, you were shunned by racists and couldn't afford to lose the job ?"

"Tauros eye."

"I thought so. Unova's ideals should allow everyone, not regarding their species or their origin, to fight for their rights. I heard you gave my son quite a chase. That's no small feat, he used to be the junior champion at the drive club in Nimbasa."

"Your son did have some driving skills. Although if I were you, I would never allow him to touch a car again."

"I agree. However, I didn't ask you to come for telling you I'm sorry."

Mortimer stood up, and took his bag. He opened it, took out his checkbook, and began writing on it.

"To Cody Sunders. Your name is Cody ? Good. From Castelia's City Council. Signature… And here you go."

Mortimer held the check towards Cody, who took it. And nearly choked when he saw the sum written on it.

"1 000 000 Poké ? I can't accept this. My silence won't be bought, even for such a sum."

"I am not buying your silence. I am offering you the mean to track the asshole that drugged my son, and to bring him to justice."

Cody couldn't believe it. For years he fought against crime with only his gun, his partners, his car and his wits. Now, he could buy out almost every informer in the city without worrying for cash !

"And, Mr Sunders ? Before I go, one last thing."

Mortimer was at the door, ready to open it.

"I knew Starck personally. He talked about you often, the reason I know your name. I know he thought you were as good at this job than him. If not better. I trust you."

Without saying anything more, Dowell grabbed his son, and got out of the station, while Cody was left with a huge check in his claws.


	2. Chapter 2 : Starting Investigations

**Aaaaand I'm back after nearly one month of leaving! Please don't hit me. I promise I will try to be a little bit less... inconsistent with my updates. Life has been quite taking this times, both for good and bad things, and I am deeply sorry for it. But, hey, at least, you get my longest chapter ever to compensate! Isn't that great? No? Oh, well, too sad.**

**Anyway, this chapter is plot heavy, and will really start the whole story, with the first big events in there. I hope I didn't make the dialogues too lengthy and/or boring, however. So, please, if you have constructive criticism, Read &amp; Review ! PS : If you don't have that, you can still review. It is appreciated.**

**Now, on with the story!**

_Castelia City_

Cody was working in his office, still filling the paperwork for the damage caused by the chase that happened one week ago. And it bothered him to no end.

Despite the mayor's generous gift, Cody still didn't have a clue about where to start his investigations about AML-55. Even with the welcomed financial boost, he knew he couldn't outright ask his contacts about the drug, due to its producer being apparently quite wealthy and powerful. So, here he was, in his office, trying to fill the ninth document detailing the causes that led to a street light's tragic death. Just as he was wishing for the day to become slightly more interesting, Tucker came in his office in a panic, his wings moving frenetically as he was clearly in a panic.

"Cody! It's terrible! Leon! He… They… It's a disaster!"

"Calm down, Rob. Breathe slowly and tell me what's happening."

The Ledian did so, barely managing to regain his composure, and talked again:

"Cody, they're going to _promote_ Leon!"

"You got to be kidding me. Please tell me you're kidding."

"He's with Darius right now, I saw them! Darius gave him the Captain's insignia!"

"Arceus damn it." Said Cody as he quickly rose from his chair and began to head towards Darius' office. Just in time to see Leon getting out of said office. With the Captain's insignia, indeed, on his uniform.

"Hello, Cody. What a beautiful day it is today! Don't you think so?"

One could barely see the buildings outside the windows, thanks to the heavy mist that fell down on Castelia three days ago.

"Sorry, Greyfield. I prefer my weather sunny."

"Oh, well, it's true I could use merrier weather, but it's not important. Guess what, _colleague_?" said the Sylveon with obvious joy in his words. "I have been promoted to Captain!"

"Congratulations. Who did you backstab this time to get your promotion?"

The Sylveon at least had the grace not to look offended, and was honest with this accusation.

"A lot of people, actually, but I would say you take the cake."

"How did you use _me_ in your schemes?"

"Well, let's say part of the mayor's money has been placed in good paws."

Cody understood instantly.

"_You_ told the mayor about his son that day!"

"That I did." said he with his brightest smile. "Now, if you excuse me, colleague, I have to think about which people I would like to have at my sides in my new position. Have a nice day!"

The Sylveon casually passed by Cody, who was too offended to even react, before he told him:

"By the way, Darius wants you to grab a case. The complainant is with him in his office."

And with that said, he was off. When Tucker was sure Leon was out of view, he slowly went to Cody.

"Cody… Are you alright ?"

The Krookodile's claws were held in fists, and anger was taking its toll on his body, now shaking violently.

"Rob… Do you know what does that mean?"

"Nothing good for us, I suppose?"

"He is now my equal. I won't be able to order him anymore. I do not have the slightest control on him. Not anymore."

"I knew it was no good. Well, sorry…"

"You don't have to be, my friend."

They stayed here for a minute silent, thinking about what Leon would do with his newfound authority. Then, Cody snapped back to life.

"I got to see Darius. See you later Rob."

"See you later, Captain."

Cody actually cracked a faint smile at his subordinate. He just told him in a subtle way he was the only one around here whom he would take orders. And, for the Krookodile, it mattered. It mattered a bunch.

*o*o*o*o*

Cody knocked on Darius' door, and heard his boss telling him to come in. As he pushed the door, he immediately noticed what was unusual. Or rather, who was.

Sure enough, Darius was sitting at his office, but a complete stranger to Cody sat in a chair next to the wall. A male Flygon, dressed into a business suit, complete with a plain white tie and a small ornament showing what was apparently two Dragon-Types that tried to bite their respective tails in what formed a circle. Cody recognized it as the logo for a big industrial group. Whoever that man was, he was important.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" asked Cody. As he did so, he noticed the subtle, but nonetheless present, disgusted glare the Flygon threw him. _Great, another racist_, thought Cody.

"Yes, I did, Sunders. Sit down."

Cody did so.

"Sunders, allow me to introduce you to Karkarov Dietrich, Dietrich Industries' head, founder and CEO. Mr Dietrich, here is Cody Sunders, the officer that is working currently on the AML-55's case."

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr Sunders."

Cody now remembered that Dietrich Industries indeed had their logo looking like Karkarov's ornament.

"Me as well, Mr Dietrich."

"Sunders, Mr Dietrich came here this morning because he knows where do AML-55 come from."

Now that sparked Cody's interest. Although he was suspicious than a businessman like the Flygon would know about the drug, he knew he was at dead point, and that he needed every clue he could get.

"Indeed. AML-55 was actually the laboratory's name of a new generation therapeutic molecule we were working at."

Karkarov's vain and haughty voice was already getting on Cody's nerves.

"AML-55 was actually supposed to be used in antidepressants to help dealing with paranoia and depression, amongst others. However, after a battery of tests, AML-55 was dubbed un-marketable, due to the problems that would arise in the patients' metabolism."

"What kind of problems?" asked Cody.

"The molecule provoked first an euphoria, then inhibited the patients' self-preservation instincts forcing them to act a lot more dangerously than usual. Then, it led to an acceleration of the metabolism, soon followed by death, as the body is unable to keep up."

Those were the exact effects the drug had on its victims. And seeing than the police kept this information hidden, Karkarov was telling the truth: AML-55 came from Dietrich Industries.

"After this turn of events, we disposed of the molecule. Or tried to."

"Huh? What do you mean, Mr Dietrich?"

"Someone stole AML-55, along with its formula. And sold it to the highest bidding."

"You're telling me one of the biggest companies in the world had one of their most important facilities robbed?"

"It wasn't a robbery, Mr Sunders. It was a theft executed by the book. Performed by one of the most infamous and well known thieves of our time."

At those words, Dietrich handled a pile of documents he kept in his suitcase and handled it off to Cody. It was the records of someone. A young woman, a Scrafty, apparently in the same age than Cody, about 25. At first, nothing looked special about her. Until one read her list of achievements, that is.

"Anna Orwell. Thief extraordinaire. Responsible of the great Driftveil Bank's Heist, robbed countless banks across Unova, each time with the minimum of casualties and the maximum of profits. Orphaned at a young age. Whereabouts unknown. Works in free-lance every time, taking her commission."

_Who is that guy?_ thought Cody, seeing that he was almost more aware of this particular criminal actions than the police itself. Either Castelian Police became absolutely incompetent, or that guy had friends into the underworld. The policeman supposed one couldn't get this far without having friends doing the dirty work.

"You see, Mr Sunders, it seldom happened, but I have been… let's say… kind of a consultant with the police in the past, especially when my properties were endangered. Thus the reason I am helping you today. I need to clear my name from this regrettable accident, and you need to stop this drug flooding the city. Our goals are complementary."

It was as if Karkarov read through Cody's mind, clearing every trace of doubt even before he could have make them stand out as sentences.

"Back to the matter, Sunders" spoke Darius. "Mr Dietrich handled us a trail about where to find that accursed thief. Would you be so kind?"

Dietrich held out another file, this time about an association. It was called Equality, and Cody vaguely heard of it, once. Equality was an organization trying to fight racism in Unova by non-violent means. Hunger strikes, boycotts, peaceful march, the list went on. Surprisingly enough, Cody found out that their leader was a Dark-Type, a Shiftry to be precise, but his associates were a Talonflame and an Excadrill. It was rare for movements like this one to have more people not directly related to their cause, here Dark, Poison and Ghost Types victim of racism, but it looked like Equality's ranks were actually very diverse.

"Anna Orwell is a fervent partisan of Equality. I'm tasking you with the mission of joining the association, and use your position inside it to find her and bring her to justice."

Upon hearing Darius' words, shock began to build inside Cody. He was used as a bait. Because of his Dark-Type and the racism he suffered at work, his boss thought, Cody would be the perfect choice to gain the sympathy of the association. The Heracross made it clear now that Cody wasn't appreciated at all in his office. He even played on that factor when preparing missions, now. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't heard the Flygon leaving until he spoke.

"I am sorry, but I must take my leave. A very important meeting. Mr Sunders, Mr Darius gave you my phone number, so that I may discuss with you about the progress of your mission."

And without even a word of goodbye, he was out. Cody instantly showed his scorn to Darius.

"I fucking hate you, you know that?"

"And here I thought you would be at least grateful for this case, Sunders. For once, I'm sending you with your kin and the dumbass who still think you are more than trash. That will make a fine change, I dare say."

"Starck had its flaws, but at least, he was honest when he hated someone. You're just giving me poisoned gifts Darius. Gifts I can't refuse."

"I am not talking about my predecessor, Sunders. Trust me, if it wasn't for his memory, you would have been fired a thousand times already."

"It must be hard, huh? To know that whatever you do, how much you will put in the right paws, claws, wings, how many times you will try to convince yourself in the mirror, you will never match him."

"Leave that idiot of a Kabutops out of this, Sunders."

"The worst in this is that you don't even have the slightest respect for a man that gave his life for you. Look around you. Look at what you did of his legacy. The city is not coming nuts because you are worthless at your job. It's like that because you're a piece of trash."

"I swear to you, one more word, and I will handle your ass to the disciplinary commission."

"But do it, Darius. Do it. And know that if you do, in two weeks, either you're eating in the paw of some random kingpin or you're dead. Your call. Because I'm the only one with authority around here that still fights with my men for the law. Not for my paycheck. Have a nice day, sir."

Cody left his boss' office on those words, Darius slightly uneasy, but forgetting about it half a minute later.

*o*o*o*o*

_Mode Street_

_Bagel Emporium_

Bagel Emporium, like its name indicated it, was a shop where customers ate bagels. However, with twelve different flavors, it being open 24/24, and the owner not being a racist jackass, it was one of the few places where Cody could eat freely without worrying about having to get out because his presence was 'scaring' other customers.

_As if Tyrantrums weren't scarier than me_, thought he grimly. And yes, it happened to him. A lot of times. But Edward the Ambipom, in his forties, would have punched the man who would even think about asking for a regular, Dark-Type or not, to leave the place because of its 'scaring silhouette'. The Noivern prick that got that one out last year have been promptly thrown out. With a twin punch on his face.

Needless to say, the two men became best friends after this. The fact that Cody loved bagels since he was three only helped the process.

"Cody! My man! What's up, guy? How you doin'?"

"Fine, Ed, fine. Please I'm starved, so just serve me your lunch special. Promise, I'm telling you everything after that."

"Alright, man, one lunch special, with Mago Berry Juice, I presume? Sweet Berries for you still?"

"Sweet Berries for me still." said Cody with a smile.

"So Mago Berry Juice and of course the house's special Sundae, since I like you. And who might be those two fellas behind you that suspiciously wear the same uniform than you, hm?"

"Lena, Rob, this is Edward. Ed, Lena and Rob, my coworkers." Cody made the presentations for the three.

"Nice to meet you." said the Ambipom with a lot less of cheerfulness than before.

"Ed. They are the good ones. You know, my friends."

"Ah! Sorry, I hadn't caught that. Welcome, welcome, friends of my friend! What will it be for you?"

Cody merely chuckled at his friend's antics with people he didn't knew. Edward could hate someone just by looking at his face for the first time. Or he could try to make same people assist at his brother's marriage. Yes, he hated losing time.

The three cops sat at Cody's favorite table, the one near the window with view on the streets.

"Well, Cody, your friend sure is energetic. I never thought eating bagels implied dealing with an overfriendly Ambipom chef."

"Don't worry Lena. You'll get used to it after a while, and if you become a regular, trust me, his house's special sundae is like someone put the Hall into your mouth."

"But, Cody" said Rob. "This place isn't really cheap, you know. How come, with the ridiculously low wage we're on thanks to Darius, you're able to eat here almost every day?"

"A long story implying me getting in a bad situation implying food trucks, a Kalosian whore, the Raging Fist gang, an executive from TV and a lot of bad luck, and Cody getting me out of this shit" kindly explained the Ambipom chef who brought their meals and sat at their table during the same time. "Since then, he only pays the production cost. And you wouldn't believe how much money one can make with benefits margins. Of course, since the friends of my friends are my friends, you're getting the reduction too!"

"If your bagels are as good as Cody says" said the female Lucario, "Then it will be a pleasure."

She then proceeded to eat a small part of one of her bagels. Then, after a short while, ate the rest quickly, as if her life depended on it.

"This will definitely be a pleasure. Legends, I won't be able to eat regular donuts like a cliché cop ever again."

"Uuuhm… It's just so tasty… Now I regret not coming here sooner, Cody" said Rob as he ate with equal pleasure and delight his bagel as well. "This is so _good_."

Edward only laughed at this, always happy to hear someone liked his food, joined soon after by Cody when Lena finished her first bagel with breadcrumbs over her face. She got it off her face while groaning.

"So, Cody. You promised me you would explain everything. Now that you kept me waiting, I demand a full explanation!"

"Relax, Ed. I'm open to all questions, so fire away."

"How's your family?"

"Damn it, you had to make me talk about the moron that serves as my father."

"I asked about your family as a whole, man."

"Dad is still trying to enlist me in the military, Mom is still away in Kanto, in the Seafoam Islands I think, some kind of cult dedicated to Articuno. Honestly I don't care anymore. Jordan is still being daddy's golden boy, Martha invited me to Zac's birthday, the two of them are doing fine."

"Your nephew's birthday is in three months if I remember correctly, no?" asked Lena.

"Yup, on February. I think I really should begin looking for a gift."

"Three months beforehand?" said Rob. "Cody, isn't it a bit too early?"

"If I start looking now, hopefully I will have found something one week before the event. Yes, I'm that slow. And it's not going to be better, with the case Darius dropped on me."

"Darius dropped a case on you?"

"This morning. About AML-55. An industrial gave us a tip, his lab created the drug as medicine, tests were a failure, someone stole it, and I have to find the thief in question to know who she sold the drug at."

"Sorry to contradict your rather awful mood, man" said Ed, "but I thought you would die to investigate about this drug. You just kept talking about this to me for months."

"I would, if Darius didn't ask me to infiltrate Equality."

"Equality? The anti-racism association? What do those guys have in common with this case?"

"An adherent. The thief is presumed to be Anna Orwell, a Scrafty about my age that would support the associations' goals."

"Of course. A Dark-Type" said Rob.

"Let me guess, you think someone wants to incriminate the woman because she is a Dark-Type, isnt't it?" asked Lena.

"Exactly. The man, Dietrich if I recall, wouldn't give me more details. My guess is that his men became careless and lost the molecule. Or they sold it by themselves. With their perfect culprit, the whole business will never be revealed, and everyone expect the victims' family will be happy."

"But, they don't have a proof this was her, no?" asked Ed.

"No, but she is indeed a thief, and a successful one at that. This will make their illusion even more authentic. My job is to pose as a cop unhappy with his job because of the inherent racism at the office, investigate and incriminate her. With forged evidence if I have to, although they were at least polite enough not to mention this possibility."

"This job is just bullshit" said quietly Rob.

"Yes. It's bullshit. To be honest, if I didn't promise Starck on his deathbed that I would do everything I could to protect the innocent, I would have gone back to Hoenn."

"Good thing you promised, then. Because without you, we might as well resign already. You're the only one that keeps the goddamn Department still working for law, even partially." Lena's comment.

"Thanks."

The three of them ate quietly, with the Ambipom watching if his employees managed to hold the checkout. Since they did, he stayed with his friends. Cody, however, suddenly remembered something.

"Guys, remember the chase with the mayor's son last week?"

They all nodded, the Ambipom because Cody told him the next morning it happened, when he came for his breakfast at his dinner.

"I completely forgot about this one, but the mayor gave me 1 000 000 Poké that night."

Rob and Ed whistled.

"He bribed you that much?" asked Lena

"No. He gave them to me because he wanted me to use them while chasing down the dealer. Which brings me to you, Ed. How much do you need to acquire information about that thief's whereabouts?"

"Give me a quarter of this sum, and I will be able to make my contacts sell their mothers. Transfer part of the money on my account, and I will give you your information as soon as I can!"

"Thanks, pal. And for you two, do you got any idea?"

"Basically the same thing" said Rob. "Lena's brother is the Raging Fist's leader, so we should be able to ask for their help. Some allied gangs could help us as well."

Cody shivered when thinking about Lena's brother. Logan was a brute, leader of an all-Fighting-Type gang, the Raging Fist. They were one of the most feared gangs in the city, since a lot of people ended in brawls with them, but few got out alive. And Logan was the most vicious of them all.

However, he was also surprisingly cultivated, and thought the cops were actually necessary to Castelia, although he was deep inside illegal activities. He even respected his sister's choice of career, as long as they followed a simple rule "We help each other if we can, we stay out of the other's business if we need to." Logan proved himself to be a valuable asset whenever Cody engaged his services, and with a million Poke in hand, the Krookodile was sure he was going to bring along his best men with him this time.

"So it's done then. I will transfer all the cash you need to gather the data. For my part, I will begin my investigation this afternoon."

"So soon? Why?" asked Lena.

"The sooner I got this over, the sooner I will be able to take a break. I wanted to spend some family time with my brother and the others this Arceusmas. I want to end this case before that."

He suddenly thought of something

"Wait a second… I just realized I asked you to work on a case you weren't supposed to work on. Especially you, Ed."

"Ya know, man, it's not like it's going to be the first time, haha!" said the chef while tapping Cody's shoulder.

"And we sure as hell don't want it to be the last, Captain" said Rob.

"Oh yes, we don't" added Lena.

Cody just laughed at his friends' remarks, and resumed his eating, glad he wouldn't be alone for this case.

*o*o*o*o*

_The next morning_

To say Anna had a busy day was an understatement. The young Scrafty woman, last night, had been busy trying to play slutty to one random thug that got his paws on something way more valuable than his life. A really precious jewel that belonged to a gang leader that was willing to pay a little fortune to get it back.

As always, Anna did a flawless theft. The guy had been knocked out easily and by the time he woke up, she was long gone, jewel in hand. The crime lord offered a nice bonus for the thief's death, but Anna only killed in self-defense. That principle was the only thing her late father had left to her that would not be going away anytime soon.

"Hush, girl" she scolded herself. "You're not getting anywhere with that mentality."

Thievery rule number one: never, ever, look back to your past. You might find some things like regrets or sorrow that will just mess up with your head.

So, instead of setting here in her quiet apartment on the docks with view on the sea, grumbling about her lost past, she woke up, tired, opened the curtains, took her clothes left on the ground and tried to maintain some kind of order to them-and forfeited soon enough- and start to eat her breakfast, cereals and milk. It may sound like a child's breakfast, but Anna couldn't force herself to eat anything else in the morning. And it was very convenient to store, which meant she could take long leaves, and still be able to eat after a long time. For the rest of the day, she always ordered something. With the money she had, she could afford this delicacy.

Once she was done, she went to the kitchen to wash her bowl, until she heard her phone ringing through the room. Under a pile of clothes. Which one, she didn't know however.

"Oh, come on" said she while looking for it. "You got to be kidding me."

After a small wrestle, she managed to find her phone. Taking it she read the caller's name. Edmond Richards. She took the call.

"Anna here. What's up Ed? Did Baxter messed up with you again? Cause that's probably the only reason you seem to call me nowadays. Especially as early as… 10 o'clock. Sorry, it's me who's the late sleeper."

"_Anna… Baxter is dead…_"

"What?"

"_Last night… he… they… Just check the news, please._"

Quickly, Anna grabbed the remote, turned on the TV, and zapped to TV. And she chilled.

On the TV was the following title: "Equality's headquarters burned down." Anna listened to the reporter, as he told extremist racists set fire to the building and locked the doors from the outside. She looked at the pictures of the victims, all of them part of the association, all of them people she made friends with, a long or not so long time ago, depending of the people in question. Finally, she listened to the cries of _joy_ that could be heard behind the reporter, the people that were _cheering_ on this atrocity.

She tried to maintain a composure. She tried not to burst down in tears. But in the end, she did it nonetheless. Over the phone, she could hear Ed's muffled voice, probably hoarse because of the crying he did a little bit earlier, she assumed. She cried, and cried, and cried again. Thirteen of her friends were dead tonight. And the culprits would probably get away with this. Like they always did.

She was a pro, though. She quickly managed to regain her calm, and only told "I'm coming right away" to her friend and hung up.

*o*o*o*o*

_Equality's former headquarters, Central Plaza_

Cody was used to see racism and brutality, but the sight he had in front of his eyes was just hideous. The association he needed to infiltrate had been literally burned, but that wasn't the problem for him. He heard Rob behind him vomit whatever Ledians could vomit, while Lena was busy trying to hold back a tear when she saw a Croagunk and his Toxicroak mother embraced in each other. The legists had difficulty telling them apart at first, due to the corpses being burned so badly.

The leaders of the association were here, all three of them. It was obvious in their faces that the night had been one of the most painful they would ever have. The Excadrill and the Talonflame, Desmond Morales and Nathan Miles if he remembered correctly the names, were almost unable to do a thing, standing there silently, as if the world suddenly lost all its meaning. The Shiftry, however, Edmond Richards, was more active. Although he was as pained as his colleagues, it was obvious it wasn't the first time he had to deal with a traumatic event.

_Of course, him being a Dark-Type should have helped with that_, he thought bitterly.

Deciding everything would be better than staying here and gawking at the horror in front of them, he grabbed Lena by the shoulder, and called Rob.

"Tucker. We got work to do."

"I'm coming, Cody. Just… just let me clean up."

Cody graciously handed him a tissue, and Rob gladly took it. Once he was done with the cleaning, he stood as proud as he could, and the trio began to walk towards the Shiftry. Cody introduced himself.

"Captain Cody Sunders, Castelia Police Department. I'm deeply sorry for your loss, Mr Richards."

The Shiftry, although surprised to see a Dark-Type wearing the police uniform, shrugged it off soon enough and became angry instead.

"Yes. Who isn't? Certainly not the police, it seems. Three men? For an affair that killed thirteen innocent people, and injured two dozens more?"

"We are probably the first people of the Department who were told about this tragedy, Mr Richards. Of course, a team of investigators will work on this case, along with us three."

Cody stayed diplomatic. He didn't knew why, but his instinct told him it was in his interest to not piss this man off.

"Don't bother. I've been here long enough to know it's futile to hope such thing."

"Ed… I think he's being genuine, there…" spoke for the first time the Excadrill. "The police might be corrupted, doesn't mean _he _is. We could use all the help we need, to find… you know…"

"Desmond, if you're hoping to see help from them, then you understood nothing of Castelia. They're worse than the gangs."

"We are just right there, you know?" hesitantly said Rob

"My wife died in this shit, Ed. I want the murderers brought to justice, even if I have to bribe them with everything I got."

"That won't be necessary."

To everyone's surprise, expect the Talonflame who was still lost in schock, it was a newcomer who actually talked. And Cody knew exactly who it was with the first look he threw her.

Sure enough, Anna Orwell, the supposed culprit of the AML theft, was here, in person, stepping out of her motorbike they didn't even noticed. Cody couldn't help but think that she was… well… not pretty, as she clearly wasn't in a clean job, but beautiful in her own way. The photos didn't make her justice.

"Captain Cody Sunders. Commander Starck's little protégé. If it might reassure you guys, he's probably the only honest cop along with his friends in the city. He's quite famous for it in my circle, after all."

"Your circle, Miss…?"

"Orwell. Anna Orwell. And don't play dumb with me, Captain. The Department have files about me, I'm sure. But I don't think I risk an arrest, unless your sense of priorities is messed up."

"All right, then, Orwell. You're right, I'm not interested in your… side activities besides your work at Equality. However, I'm interested in who did you anger so much for it to kill thirteen people."

"Racists" said Edmond, slightly eased by his female friend remark, but still on edge. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Actually, not at all" interrupted Lena. "We got proof it has been a professional's work. It wasn't some drunk racist act, it was too precise."

"And we weren't asking the question to you, Mr Richards" said Cody. "I was actually asking your friend here. Who did you steal or fooled that could have targeted Equality in some kind of morbid revenge?"

To his surprise, however, she was as clueless in this matter as he was, not a single hint of uneasiness passing in her eyes when she answered.

"Impossible. I always work solo, for the highest bidder, and I never interfere in the gangs' business, and they don't interfere in mine. It's a tacit code we came up a long time ago: nothing personal. Nobody would be dumb enough to attack my friends for angering me and expect to live after this. Not if I hire a lot of people to kick him to death in some back alley."

_Well, at least she doesn't hide herself_, thought the Krookodile.

But he knew that every seconds passing by would help the culprits escape, so he decided to throw in the bomb.

"I'm sorry to bring this to you, Miss Orwell, but I have been tasked yesterday to join Equality, and then to make contact with you, because you are suspected of the theft of the AML-55 experimental formula in the Dietrich Industries' laboratories, and then sold it to the highest bidder who then made it into a drug."

He knew he was telling supposedly top-secret informations, but he knew the two cases were bound.

"And the next morning, said association's headquarters are burned. I don't know for you, but it looks like someone is playing a game with us. A game that is costing innocent's lives each day.

So, I will have only question, Orwell : do you want to collaborate and find the true culprit who very well may be the murderer as well, or do I have to put you into jail for this?"


	3. Chapter 3 : A weird friendship

**Well, I said something last month about inconsistencies in the updates. And I promised I would try to work on that. But then, the greatest enemy of any writer, the vilest opponent I had to face off, hit me hard. That's right. I'm talking about WRITER'S BLOCK. I just couldn't imagine how to write the middle of the chapter, I don't even know how in the name of all that is sacred I could ever block on the story I thought I had planned out. **

**But now that I overcame this dramatic issue (for this chapter, at least) I am quite happy with how it sorted out. So well, you know the deal, read, review, critic if you have to (or want to), but most importantly, have fun.**

**Darren Xirias, out.**

_Castelia City_

_Oceanfront Road_

The three cops and Anna were driving towards the Thumb Pier, the Scrafty having tagged along almost instantly. When Lena asked her why, she simply said:

"When someone just told you that you might have killed thirteen people unwillingly and his arguments make a point, you tend to listen."

So, here they were, getting to the Pier. Their plan was to go into the Sewers, gang territory, and begin investigations. At first with money, and then with their fists if the first plan failed. Lena did get them a little head start in the matter, seeing than her brother was a gang leader, and that for siblings who worked opposed sides of the law, they surprisingly got along well.

"Logan, it's me… Yeah, I know, I should have visited last week… Look, I'm working, and I will need your help with a case. No, not this time. It's serious, big brother. Did you saw the news? Yes, _that_ news. When can we see you?... Right now? Good. Yes, we were already on our way. See ya in a minute."

She hung up, and told the others it was all clear. They were mostly silent for the rest of the drive. At that time, they only had one thing in head: find the culprit. Soon.

After about five more minutes, they arrived at the pier. It was the beginning of the most violent part of the city, but Cody knew they were safe. Nobody with a brain would try to pick on the sister of a gang leader and a thief that probably got back up from some really powerful crime lords. He parked his car, and he got out with the others. Without wasting time, they went inside the sewers.

"Lena, you know the place better than us. You're taking the lead."

The group of four made their way into the well-lit sewers, seeing now and then houses that were remnants of the city Castelia had been before the humans built the metropolis it was today. Said houses were of course absolutely not respectful of the most primary conditions of cleanliness and security. As such, all the sewers weren't even existant as a neighborhood proper in the city's documents. It was a benediction for the gangs, since police almost never got down here. But Cody just had to do nothing like the others. People were looking at them with varied emotions, curiosity, fear and anger all alike.

They halted in front of a door guarded by a Throh and a Sawk, the two of them wearing baggy pants and a sleeveless shirt, coupled with a chain. Typical gangster complex. Lena began the talking.

"Let me pass. I'm awaited."

The Sawk, obviously recognizing her, was about to reply, when his Throh partner made a grave mistake.

"Listen here, you police bitch! Get the fuck out of here or else me and my bros are going to kick your slutty ass and throw what remains in a freaking dustbin!"

And just at that moment, the door opened, revealing a very muscular and menacing Lucario. Who bore great similarities with Lena. And looked like he was going to murder someone.

"Yes, Barett, I'm sure you could beat my sister and throw the corpse in a dustbin. If you grew a pair and a brain, that's it."

While he had been deadly calm when uttering that sentence, he immediately jabbed the Throh, did a roundhouse kick, threw him on the ground and shoved his face in the dust with its foot. In less than three seconds. He then pointed at the Sawk.

"You there. When he gets up, tell him he's fired. And that next time I see him, I beat him so hard his mother won't recognize him."

He then turned to our heroes.

"Sorry, sis. I heard that dimwit through the open window, and I couldn't help myself."

"Compared to other times, you went easy on him, Logan. Though it's good to know you're still in charge."

"When I got visitors, I at least try to be a little more civilized."

And indeed, Logan, Lena's brother, appeared to wear a slightly less stereotypical attire that could have easily been decent if it weren't for the 'fuck the system' message on the t-shirt. The male Lucario also wore jeans, was barefoot, like a lot of other Pokémon, and that was pretty much it. Cody remembered a night were Logan was so drunk he wrestled with one of his competitors naked. In public. Cody and Lena agreed to never take him back with them on mission again. Ever.

"More than civilized. Everybody knows that the best mark of civilization is to beat assholes to death"

The moment Anna spoke, the three cops froze, fearing what Logan would think of the jab. To everyone's surprise, he laughed.

"Glad to see you're still being witty after that whole shit, Anna. How are you doing?"

"Not fine. I will get better if you help me find the bastard that did this."

"Trust me, I will. And when two beautiful women ask me a favor, how can I refuse?"

"Look at him, he's trying to be a gentleman. I would almost fall for it. Almost."

"I am your sister, Logan" added Lena. "It's weird when you call me pretty."

Logan only snorted, and invited the four of them inside.

*o*o*o*o*

"So, I expected you two girls to need my services at different times, but since you're working together for now, that will help me make it short."

Logan made them sit in a dilapidated room, with equally dilapidated furniture to match.

"First thing first, when you want to deal with my neighbors: if you don't know what and who you're asking for, you're screwed. The others will never tell a cop what he wants, unless he gives them absolutely no possibility of misunderstanding. If you're not precise, get out of here, and come back when you got some clues. You do know what to look at, hm?"

"Everybody involved in heavy drug deals recently" said Anna and Cody at the exact same time. While initially surprised, the two quickly regained their composure.

"Good. That leaves us with the Doc and Stim to ask questions"

"Wait… Do you mean you can make the two most powerful drug dealers of the city come here and speak to cops?" asked doubtfully Rob.

"Oh, don't worry about that. A lot of people are in debt with Anna, one way or another, and they will jump at the opportunity to repay it. So, by what I understood about this case, there is someone, who we don't know, that is selling an experimental medicament turned drug in the city, and that is powerful or crazy enough to involve civilians attached to one of the most powerful woman of the underworld. Am I right?"

They all nodded.

"Good, then. I already sent someone go fetch the guys. You will be able to ask them whatever you want in about…"

Before he could end his sentence properly, someone knocked at the door.

"…now."

Logan went up and opened the door, revealing a Primeape, obviously a Raging Fist member. He escorted two other people: a Muk and a Pidgeot. Cody instantly recognized them from previous investigations : the Muk was nicknamed the Doctor, and the Pidgeot Stim. Like Rob said, they were the leading authorities in drug market in Castelia. The Doc was a middle-aged Muk who managed to invent in his young years a medicine allowing his specie's bodies to solidify to some extent, allowing better movement, clothing wear, and suppressed a lot of toxic emissions they could emit. His employer and him got engaged in a legislative battle. The Muk lost. Having lost almost everything, and out of desperation, he turned to criminality, and used his knowledge in chemistry to create various drugs which he sold with his gang, with huge success.

Stim was another matter entirely. Born in Sinnoh from a very wealthy family, he had a golden childhood, with personal teachers, expensive care and the like. Life wanted him to become a potent businessman, respected and admired. He only kept the businessman part. Stim was a rebellious mind, and went to Unova in his early twenties. Five years later, he was the leader of a very powerful gang that dealt in drugs, too. The main difference between him and the Muk was that Stim didn't created his own drugs, instead shipping them from various places around the world.

The two dealers couldn't be more different: the Muk was dressed in a sort of business suit tailored to fit on his round body, and also wore a fedora, while Stim wore jeans cut above half his legs, an undershirt with a single red streak on the left half, which Cody hoped wasn't blood, and a baseball cap, though obviously a counterfeit. When they entered the room, the Pidgeot immediately tensed.

"Logan, you didn't tell us the cops would be here…"

"Relax, Stim. They're not here to get you. Not today, at least."

The Doc, on the other hand, was a model of calm.

"Anna, my dear. I'm glad to see you. I am greatly sorry for what happened."

"Hi, Doc. Pleasure to meet you again, too."

"When Logan called and told me I could be able to help you with this whole ordeal, I went immediately, though I wasn't expecting you to be in such company…"

In the end, though, he was scared, too. Three cops cornering him in a room was enough to give any gang leader cold sweat. Lena decided to take care of the presentations.

"I am Lena, Logan's sister, and those are my colleagues, Rob Tucker and Cody Sunders."

Event when the two dealers slightly relaxed when hearing she was their colleague's sister, their fear came back at full force when they knew the most well-known incorruptible cop in the city was here, though they did a great job at hiding it.

"I am not here for you. We have more pressing matters to discuss."

Although still tense, the two men nodded and sat down. Cody then began the hostilities.

"Last night, Equality's headquarters were burned down. Although the whole thing passed as a racist act of hate made by drunkards, it isn't. Evidence found there indicated a professional's work. Someone wanted the building to burn. We wouldn't have a clue about who could it be, if I hadn't been instructed the same day to infiltrate said association to keep tabs on Anna over here in a very special case."

He paused for a theatrical effect.

"A case about the AML-55."

At this, the two dealers reacted, showing interest, disgust and also a little bit of fear. Cody managed to read their faces in the small time those emotions passed on the faces.

"Do you have any information?" quietly asked the policeman.

The Pidgeot answered almost immediately.

"We don't have any. We're not dealing in that kind of shit. That just messes people inside and kill them."

"You're lying."

Cody just flat out said the accusation, causing the Pidgeot to back off a little.

"You're not very good at hiding your thoughts, for a gang leader. You reek of fear."

"I don't know a shit about this. End of story."

"Stim" suddenly intervened Anna. "Do you remember that little debt you owe me? About a smartphone that held _all_ of your business contacts that I found back for you?"

The Pidgeot nodded in acknowledgement.

"A lot of my friends died. And the psycho that did this is running loose. If you don't tell me what you know, I will call all of my debtors and tell them the first one that brings me your head will be clear."

The Pidgeot gulped in fear, knowing full well that Anna would make her threats come true if necessary.

"I won't tell a thing, Anna. Even if I knew all about that guy, I wouldn't tell you. I just… I just can't, OK? Please, drop the matter."

Anna was really surprised at the dealer's reaction. Usually, when she used that threat, everybody would just give her what she needs. For Stim to not break for this, the man behind the whole ordeal was indeed very frightening.

"Enough, boy."

The Doc spoke, to the surprise of his colleague.

"The man is scary, yes, and indeed powerful, but he just crossed a line with this sickening act, if he truly is the culprit. By not telling us about him, you're guilty by association of the murder of thirteen innocent people!"

"He told me that the moment I spoke I died! A lot of morons threatened me that way as well, but this guy was just so chilling when he spoke to me… As if I was nothing more than an annoyance he needed to dispose of…"

"Wait a second…" interrupted Cody. "You spoke with him? Did you meet in person?"

"He did" said the Muk. "We all did. Everyone involved in drug dealing some way or another was contacted by your man."

"For which reasons? It doesn't make sense, you are his direct competitors! Why would he want to have a chat with you when it is better for him to just kill you and get over with it?"

"He apparently needed our network and facilities for selling the AML, and he offered us a big part of his deal to everyone that accepted. The meeting took place in an abandoned warehouse in Narrow Street."

"Damnit, Doc!" said Stim. "You're basically breaking all the rules of the contract he forced upon us!"

"Contract I never accepted! The other small time dealers may need his money, but I don't, and I will be damned before I'm selling a drug that kills everyone it touches!"

"A contract? What do you mean?" said Anna

"The man told us that everyone that accepted should never speak of him under any circumstances, or else the deal was off. And he told us that he would kill us should it come to this. I basically told him to go to the Distorsion World, and my colleague followed, but a lot of the others… They blindly became his pawns. We're the only dealer in the city that don't treat with the AML as of now."

"So that's the reason the drug gained popularity so fast!"

"About that man" continued Cody. "Who was he? Did you saw him in person?"

"Not at all. He didn't even went here in person. He spoke with us by phone, and he just forced some of his henchmen to watch the whole scene."

"The guy just ordered all the drug dealers of Castelia and didn't even bothered coming in person?"

"Yes. Frankly, he didn't need too. His offer was really generous, and as long as the money came in, nobody had a reason to complain."

"Damn" said Rob, who summarized Cody's feelings in a nutshell. "We had all the gangs in the city involved in this shit for Arceus knows how long, and we didn't even _see_ it…"

"I'm sorry, gentlemen, but that's all I know. I never involved with him further, so I don't know anything else of importance."

"Don't worry, Doc" said the Scrafty thief. "That's still a great help you offered us there. Unlike what did some people in there…"

Stim once again gulped nervously. For a moment, he seemed conflicted on the outside, then spoke hurriedly:

"In three days. On the _Royal Unova_, at 9pm. There will be a deal. If someone ask, I never said that."

And then, as if ashamed, he ran off the room. Seconds later, the door could be heard opening and closing. Silence was king in the room, only for Lena to break it.

"So… Who think we can trust him?"

"I do. It's clear he forced himself to speak, so I don't see why would he lie to us" said Anna.

"I agree" said Cody. "It's the only clue we found so far, so it's not like we had a choice on the matter."

"Well, reading faces never had been my specialty, but I think we should try it out" said Rob

"Then, it's settled. Now we just have to find tickets to embark on one of the most prestigious cruise boats in the entire world without acting suspiciously at all." The Lucario paused. "And now, after hearing this, I just realized this is going to be almost impossible. Joy."

"Well, you know, sis…" said Logan, upon which his sister's looked at him questioningly.

"You do remember about the early Arceusmas gift I wanted to offer you, right?" And then he took out of his pocket said gift. Two tickets for embarking on the Royal Unova, with boarding date to the user's discretion.

*o*o*o*o*

The group was now back into Cody's car. The sun was slowly descending into the sky, its rays reflecting and shimmering on the water front, creating reflects that formed a surprisingly beautiful picture. It was late in the afternoon, and Cody was driving back his two coworkers home. The drive was mostly silent, apart from the debate about who should come aboard the ship. In the end, it was decided that Cody and Anna were to come aboard, as a couple was the easiest cover to maintain, and because Rob wasn't compatible with the two girls egg groups. Lena also insisted that she didn't want to come aboard, since Cody being the only male left, it would be suspicious of her to start dating him, even for the mission's sake. So it was decided that Anna and Cody were to act like a couple while opening their eyes to anything strange.

After it was done, they were silent for a bit longer, until they arrived at Lena's apartment. She told them goodbyes, and Cody drove back. About ten minutes after, they arrived at Rob's apartment as well. Once he was gone, Cody asked where should he take his last passenger.

"Actually, I'm waiting for a friend to tell me if I can come over tonight. My apartment is a bit too close of the association's siege… or what's left."

Cody only nodded, and let the motor turning, waiting for the message to arrive.

"Shit!"

"Uh? What's happening?"

"My friend. He's away on a business trip, and won't come back until just before Arceusmas. And I don't have a double of the keys. Damn it!"

"So, you're sure you don't want to sleep at your apartment?"

"Not unless I don't have any other option left. But I don't know who could host me."

"Well, if you really don't have anyone to turn to, maybe I can… let you sleep at my place tonight."

Anna took a moment to weigh the pros and cons of the proposition, and accepted.

"Although it's strange you rush to my help like that."

"I'm just like that. I don't like to let people in need for something if I can help it."

"A very noble personality" said the thief jokingly.

"Yes. Indeed."

And on those words, he began to drive once again.

*o*o*o*o*

_Castelia City_

_Cody's Apartment_

When Cody pulled the lights on, Anna could see what his apartment looked like. And she didn't a member of one of the most corrupted institutions in the world would live such, well… _normally_. His apartment was made of four rooms: the bedroom, of course, the small kitchen in the corner, the living room winch took the most of the place, and the bathroom located near the bedroom. A flat-screen TV was inserted in the wall, in front of a couch, but apart from that, there wasn't any signs of riches, which were usually the first thing Anna looked at. The kitchen had a microwave and an oven, various cooking utensils hanging on the wall. The bathroom only had a shower, toilets and a sink. Some books were place in a small bookshelf near the couch, and there was one on the bed. Probably Cody's reading of the moment.

"I don't know about you but I'm starved. Do you want to eat?"

"Yes, please, I skipped breakfast today."

"Alright. So I got vegetarian steak, Berry salads… some carrots too, if you want. Pasta and fries, if you like that."

"I will go with the pasta, thanks."

Cody began to prepare the dishes, pasta for her, and the steak for him.

"You're into vegetarianism? I thought it was some kind of fashion."

"Not for my species. Back in the day, we were one of the most carnivorous species out in the wild. Of course, with civilization, we didn't keep on eating our future neighbors. We lost a great deal out of it though. Vegetables only procure enough proteins for a time. Whoever is allowing me to satiate my need for meat without me killing someone, I'm glad he or she exist."

"It's that important?"

"To tell you the truth, even the military worldwide thought it was a life saver for their most… carnivorous soldiers. We needed it that much."

"Well, that explain why I seem to see more and more of it each month. But how do you know about this military thing?"

"My father is a member of the spec ops back in Hoenn. So of course I was raised into the military culture."

"You're from Hoenn?"

"Yup. Said education… didn't go as well as he hoped."

"He threw you out?"

"No, I ran away the day I turned 21. My father and I have been on rocky terms since then."

"Sorry to hear this."

"You don't have to. Even if he is obsessed with his work, I'm no better. He still sends me cards at New Year, so I guess he still loves me" said the Krookodile jokingly.

"Yeah, I guess he does…"

Cody notice the Scrafty's sad tone.

"Is there a problem?"

"I don't have any family left. Everyone died in a freak car accident."

Cody stopped at this.

"I am sorry for your loss."

"Like you said, don't be. It has been more than fifteen years ago. I made my peace. Talk about your family more instead. Do you have anyone other than your mother back at home?"

"As for my mother, she is in the Seafoam Islands last time I heard. Enrolled in another dumb cult. This time, it's about finding harmony with nature by purifying yourself in the cold. Some hippie crap, like always."

"Sounds like a person that keeps her feet on earth."

"You don't say. Even before Jordan, my brother, was born, she barely paid any attention to me and Dad. She was always lost in her little world. When my father was busy saving the world, my mother reshaped it with her friends around a cup of tea. Needless to say, my parents are divorced."

"So you have a brother, then."

"Yep. He's exactly what I am not. He went to the military academy, got out with great grades, began service in the aeronautics. He's even married, with a child, and he's only 29! With his wife and his son, Martha and Zachary in case you wanted to know, he founded a little family living in Lilycove. Hoenn's greatest holiday port" he added in front of the questioned look on Anna's face. "My father _loves_, seeing he is what he always wanted me to be."

"Given the place you're working at, I can hardly see why he's so unhappy about it. Despite the 'I can get killed everyday from now' thing"

"I just didn't fit in his vision of the world enough. For him, a policeman and a soldier are as alike than a Zigzagoon and a Gyarados. But enough of that. The meal is ready, anyways."

And indeed it was, both the steak and the pastas cooked perfectly. Cody handled over the pasta dish to his guest. They began eating, and to Anna's surprise, she found herself savoring the dish more than she thought she would.

"This is great!" said she after her second mouthful of pasta shoved down the throat.

"Glad you like it. I try to improve myself in this domain, so I'm glad it is edible."

"It's more than edible. It's very good. Honestly!"

"You say it like the pasta is the greatest meal you ever ate" chuckled the Krookodile.

"Outside of the restaurants I had to go for my job, damn right it is! Nobody I know can cook as well than you. The only one who comes close could be Baxt-"

She cut herself, sorrow coming back at full force inside her.

"Could be Baxter. Yeah."

Cody stopped eating for a moment, before asking softly:

"He was at Equality, I suppose?"

"Yeah. He was… he was… a good man. Someone that just got unlucky somewhere down the evolutionary line. He was a Sableye, born in Jubilife. His mother was a cook, and he learned from her some tricks. When he became an adult, he decided to take a world trip. Castelia was his second destination after he went to Kalos. He was so damn innocent… He couldn't even _grasp_ the concept of racial hate. For him, it was like a bad dream, one day he would wake up and find everybody all fine and happy. And now, because of those monsters, he will never wake up anymore."

She didn't even felt it at first, but she noticed small tears were actually forming in her eyes. Cody looked uneasy, too, not knowing in the slightest what to do.

"Damn… I'm sorry, Cody, I… I didn't wanted to cry in your home…"

"It's alright. I won't mind. It's not like I wouldn't cry myself if I was in your place."

Anna only sniffed.

"Do you want to use the bathroom?"

"Please."

*o*o*o*o*

After Anna regained control of herself, the two Pokémon resumed their meal. Strangely enough, Anna was willing to talk a little about her life. Seeing she was a thief and Cody a cop, she found it surprising, but she felt as if he genuinely listened, which she hadn't felt for a long time.

"I began to steal when I couldn't find any other option to survive. Of course, my first attempts were bad, but thanks to my youth, I could beg for mercy and they gave me a little of their money anyway. Soon, though, I got better. I became bolder, stealing whole jewels, watches, that kind of thing… I became so good, in fact, that other slum kids like me started asking me for tips. One day, however, I targeted the wrong people: an ex prisoner that had _very_ good reflexes. In the end, though, he told me I had two choices: either he cut my hands off, or I worked for him while he taught me the secrets of the job. Seeing I have still my two hands, you can conclude I took the second option. For three years, I was fed, housed, clothed and protected, while he got to hone my talents. The final exam, of sorts, consisted in stealing a painting. Into the old Gym. Who is now one of the greatest and most protected museums in the world. I succeeded. However, I soon learned that my caretaker had made a bet about this, in which he lost. I was the price. I got to work for another man. You may know him, I think. Big Slynt."

Big Slynt. Cody knew him well enough, indeed. Slynt would sell his whole family on the black market for ten Poké if he hadn't already done it in his country of Orre for five before he arrived in Castelia. Slynt, who was a Miltank, has been ruthless, cruel, sadist and apparently participated in sick orgies where more often than not people died. One day, though, Cody operated a descent into his lair, only to find him grotesquely laid down the floor in a sick fashion.

"Not the nicest man to have around, if I recall correctly."

"After he tried to rape me, he suddenly became more docile. Close-quarters techniques paid out that day. The fact that he was a fat bastard helped as well. However, I only leaved him here after he died. The whole… scenery… of his discover was apparently done by one of his surviving victims."

"Thanks, glad to hear you're not a blood-hungry killer, but only a killer."

"Hush. After that incident, I paid a little visit to my former caretaker, I robbed him blind of even his clothes, and threw him at the police station. I think he is still in jail. Of course, I want to say, because he can't pay the bribe."

"Then, I began offering my services to the biggest bidder. I quickly became famous in my domain, and now here I am, basically confessing to a cop how much I fucked up the law in my life."

"Don't worry, I didn't brought my recorder" joked said cop.

"Thank you, officer, I would have hated it if I had to… _convince_ you for avoiding jail."

They both laughed at the crude joke.

"Thank you, Cody. I don't know why you did this tonight for me, the whole housing thing, but… just… thanks."

"You're welcome. That's what friends are for, after all."

"So I'm your friend, now?" teased the Scrafty. "We just met this morning!"

"So you don't want me as your friend, I take it?"

Suddenly, Anna became serious once more, though the smile was still wide on her face.

"I think I do want you as a friend, Mr Sunders. I am looking forward to eat your delicious pasta again, after all."

They both laughed, again. It was true the circumstances of their meeting was odd, but they decide both unconsciously to not care at all. They needed to laugh after the events of the day, and who was best for that than a friend?


	4. Chapter 4 : Starting a fire

**Hi there everyone! Darren Xirias here, with the latest chapter coming in!**

**I saw that this story didn't got the same attention than my previous one, and I think I know why: up until, now, apart from the beginning, nothing really happened in the story. Fear not, dear readers, as we are finally moving forwards to another action scene in this chapter! **

**Now you must probably know the deal, so read, comment, review, the usual. Any constructive criticism is welcome :)**

**Disclaimer: Up until now, I never did disclaimers, but I should have, as Pokemon doesn't belong to me, but to Nintendo and Game Freak. **

**Now, on with the story!**

_Castelia City_

_Cody's Apartment _

Night fell onto the city. In normal circumstances, Cody would have been working still at the station, or on the field, but given he was on a case, he was left with some kind of liberty. Said liberty, however came with a price. Namely, his boss calling him to be sire he made any progress at all.

Naturally, given the situation, and what Cody told him on the phone, Darius wasn't pleased.

"_This is madness, Sunders. You're just making us look like fools, with you begging for the gangs to give you information. I don't even know why I'm still letting you on the case as of now._"

"If the Information Department made its job, I wouldn't even have think of begging in the first place Darius. With my 'incompetence', we've made better progress today than in two months. So stop whining already!"

"_I swear to the Legends, Sunders. Weren't it for your insolent success rate, I would have fired you by now._"

"Good thing I got it then, don't you think so? Good night Darius. I will be calling you back tomorrow. You know, once I make the case move forward. _Again_."

He only heard a barely audible snarl, and then the tune indicating Darius hung up. Cody sighed deeply, while standing on his balcony and looking at the metropolis in front of him. With the sun gone, one could see the lights ignited all at once, like a forest of Arceusmas trees. Made of concrete, yes, but still, it was beautiful.

"Enjoying the view?"

The question had been asked by Anna, who just came back from the bathroom, which Cody graciously allowed her to use tonight. She was back in her clothes, her hair still drying.

"That got to be the only bloody thing in this city I'm able to enjoy now…"

"I'm sure if you squint it hard enough, Castelia can offer other things enjoyable. And trust me, I lived here since my birth."

"You got my praise for surviving here. Some days, it seems the city itself is out to make my life as terrible as possible."

"Then, why didn't you move? I mean, there are a lot of places you can live that aren't as sordid. Heck, three hours from here, Nimbasa City is a nice place to be."

"First, all my belongings are in this apartment. Second, asking help from my family is out of the question. Third, I used to love living here when I first arrived."

"It's no longer the case?"

"Before, even during a gang war, you could still mind your business outside of the hot neighborhoods. What happened between the gangs stayed between the gangs, you know the deal. After Starck's death… Not anymore."

"Starck? Who was that guy? Never heard of him before."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Uh? Why? He was a friend of yours?"

Now Anna's curiosity spiked in. From the little time she spent with him, Anna knew the policeman wasn't one to shy in front of the truth, and he answered honestly to every question she could think of, even the ones that involved serious questioning on his part. For him to drop the matter like that, now that was unusual.

"Anna, I just don't want to remind myself that kind of memories. Just drop it."

"Come on, from what I heard, he was someone important to you. You told me earlier we should try to get to know each other. Why are you backing now?"

"Please, Anna. This is a very sensitive matter, and we've known each other for less than a day."

"Alright, here is the deal. I'm telling you a very sensitive story about me, and you do the same with me about Starck. Deal?"

Cody only grunted.

"Go ahead if you want, but don't expect me to agree."

Nonetheless, the unfazed Scrafty began speaking.

"It's about who taught me how to be a professional thief. You know, the ex-prisoner I told you about. Well, let's say he wasn't a small-time criminal."

"And that means?" asked the Krookodile curiously.

"He was ruling a little empire of crime. Extortion, robberies, counterfeits, assassinations, you name it, he did it. But he was infamous for another reason. Prostitution."

"You were raised by a _pimp_?"

"Yup. And surprisingly enough, he never touched me in any way. The poor girls he 'hired', however, weren't that lucky. His business was cheap, safe, and of quality, so of course there were a lot of customers. Some of them were careless, and unwilling pregnancies happened. One of the girls in particular, who sort of became my new mother during this time. Her name was Martha, a Toxicroak. Whenever she had time, she would let me spend time with her, so I wouldn't feel completely alone. In truth, she always wanted a child, and as she was sterile, I was like a dream come true. We took care of each other during those three years, and then the little incident with Big Slynt happened. I only dared to contact her one year after, once my former mentor's anger stopped. When I did manage to talk to her once more, I discovered she wasn't so sterile after all."

"She laid an egg?"

"Exactly. Seeing she was supposed sterile, and all the customers were inspected for any kind of diseases, she never bothered with the protection. The little miracle that was her egg soon turned to nightmare when the boss fired her. No children allowed in the brothel. And so Martha was thrown out in the streets, with a child soon to be born and without any way to find a living for the two. Thankfully, though, I was already friends with Edmond, Equality's leader at the time. He offered her a job as well as all help the members could offer to help her raise her son. He hatched about one month later, and the little boy was named Lionel."

Anna sighed deeply.

"And then, seven years after, they both died in the burning that happened yesterday."

Cody turned his head towards the Scrafty, shock visible in his face.

"Do you mean that the two…"

"Yes. The two charred corpses holding each other you saw this morning. Martha was my second mother, and Lionel was the little brother I never had. Because one psycho decided they were a nuisance, I lost my family _again_."

The thief's voice was as cold as the winter, and Cody fully understood the implication behind it.

_If I ever find him, he will die. Painfully._

"But enough about me" she said while dramatically changing her mood. "I'm sure you heard enough of me whining for one night. What about you? Still don't want to talk about this Starck?"

Now Cody felt forced to tell her. Seeing the very personal story she told him, he could at least tell her one as well.

"Alright. The story begins when I was a young adult who just arrived in Castelia. I wanted to join the police department already, but when I presented my application, I was instantly rejected. Surprise, it was because I was a Dark Type. But then, at the exact moment the recruiter told me why should I bury myself in a deep hole, a Kabutops passed by and heard the conversation. Seeing he was the head of the Department, said recruiter was fired in thirteen seconds. Or something like that. He introduced himself as Captain Starck, and he told me to follow him to the shooting range. One near-perfect session on my part later, I was hired. A loadsome of people weren't too happy with it, including Darius, my actual boss who was only a Lieutenant at the time. As you may know, the Castelia Police is rotten. Starck, however, had mounted a section with men he trusted well enough, that was downright incorruptible. After an altercation with my superior concerning his obsession of accepting bribes, he integrated me into said unit.

One year later, because of my capabilities on the field, I was promoted Captain, title I kept for five years now. We were all a little bit crazy out there, and Starck was the craziest of us all. To give you an idea, I remember him driving a motorcycle on the roofs, while shooting with his gun like no tomorrow after a terrorist that tried to blow the former Gym."

"Hold on. You said he had a gun? A Kabutops, without hands, holding a gun?"

"Yeah, I was surprised at first too. Kabutops have small appendices under their blades theta act as hands in truth. It's not perfect, but it is reliable enough. Back to the topic, Starck was good at his job, to the point that he turned Castelia into an almost livable city. Under his service, there has even been one month when the guns stopped firing into the whole city.

And then, it all went downward. During this month, a new gang was created, the Confrérie. A Kalosian word meaning Brotherhood. The Confrérie was created by Kalosians, although we never discovered who exactly, and was, you guess it, another racist group. For them, everyone that didn't live to their standards, including speaking Old Kalosian perfectly and being a Fairy, Normal, Dragon, Flying or Psychic-Type, was meant to die. The gang lived up only for a short couple of months, but Arceus did they succeed in their goal: you have to thank them for the bombing of the Skyarrow Bridge, for example.

Then, one day, Starck decided it was enough. The Confrérie needed to be put in jail. He decided to launch a descent on all their hideouts at the same time, and that's what happened. Seeing that Starck became my second father of sorts in that time, and since I was also one of the most efficient people in his team, he insisted to bring me along him at the biggest hideout. And so, we went.

At first, everything went fine. We did the minimum of casualties possible, and we made a fair amount of progress. Then, after we cleared the place, we discovered a door leading to a cave. Or that's what we thought at first. We discovered an underground weapon factory, working exclusively for the Confrérie. We fought our way through, until one of the members decided to launch a suicide attack. With a rocket launcher.

Starck took the blast at full force. He didn't even scream, seeing that he was almost disintegrated in a matter of seconds. And then the building began collapsing around us, the blast destroying several foundations. We made it out barely in time. Without Starck's remnants.

The Confrérie died that day, all of their activities stopped and their members either dead or imprisoned. But Starck paid the price of that victory.

But the worse in all of this is that Starck's replacement was named only hours after his death. His corpse wasn't even cold that Darius took the command, and began a massive 'cleaning' of the Department. I kept my job only because Starck's will said he would give almost all his money to the Department should I stay. Seeing that I was competent enough, and that the amount was really important, I stayed. And Darius hated me for it, dubbing me Starck's protégé. And that's how, one year later, the gangs are at war again."

The silence that followed remained for some time, the Scrafty clearly uneasy while it was obvious the Krookodile didn't want to talk anymore.

"Wow. That's quite a lot you went through… I… shouldn't have pressed you on this. Sorry. That was a bit egotistical of my part."

The Krookodile didn't respond.

"Cody? Are you alright?"

Still no answer. The Scrafty moved herself a little to see what was wrong, until she saw his face. Cody was _crying_.

Although he did keep his calm, not making any noises, Cody's face was wet, and he was shaking slightly. Upon seeing Anna, he regained his composure, sniffling and wiping his face.

"No. No, it's alright. That ate me for too long anyway, I needed to spill it out. Sorry if I bothered you… or something." And then, he swiftly came back into the apartment.

*o*o*o*o*

Cody was busy getting out a mattress and a blanket for himself, as he offered Anna the bedroom. As he was finishing his task, Anna entered the room with a book in her hands.

"Is it alright if I read it? I'm kind of a bookworm in my spare time, and I never saw this book before."

Cody looked at it.

"Doesn't surprise me. _The Legends and their myths_ is an essay published by Canalave's University. I doubt you could find it anywhere but in a specialized library."

"You read _essay_?"

"My mother read essay. Or rather, anything that treats of spiritualism. She send me and my brother all kinds of prayer books, counts, essay… I usually trash them, but some of them are interesting even for rational people, winch my mother certainly isn't."

"And why is this essay interesting?"

"It talks about the Legends, and what folklore said about them. You know, tales, myths, the usual. Then it analyses it. The Creation, the Time Gears, the Meteor, the Flow of Life, the Half-Bloods… everything is in it?"

"Half-Bloods? What's this? I know about the Flow of Life, the thing with Xerneas, Yveltal and Zygarde, but the Half-Bloods? I dunno."

"Half-Bloods are children of Legends, or that's what is said. They were heroes with divine powers, apparently. There's even a rumor that they will come back soon."

"Well, looks like I will have to read it fast then, because it sounds promising."

"You're not going to steal it, huh?"

"Nobody pays me for stealing an essay, so don't worry about that."

He only snorted.

"Well, since I need to wake up early tomorrow, I'm going to bed right now. If you need anything, you know where to find me. If you wake up after I'm gone to work, you will have to deposit the keys in my mailbox, at the first floor."

Cody yawned, fatigue of the day catching up with him.

"Good night."

"Good night. And thanks. For letting me stay, I mean."

"Don't think about it."

Cody dismissed the thought with a wave of his paw, and Anna closed the door. She settled in the bed, and began reading the book. She wasn't even done reading the prologue that she heard something that was _really _going to ruin her night.

Cody snored. Loudly.

She bit back a curse.

*o*o*o*o*

_Castelia Police Department, the next morning._

"I so fucking hate paperwork."

Despite his best attempts, Cody still wasn't done with the repercussions of the mayor's son little trip on the highway two days ago.

_Note to myself_, thought the Krookodile, _remember to burn his driving license to ashes next time I see him._

Lena was sitting alongside him, struggling as much as her superior and friend into the inferno that was bureaucracy. Suddenly, she let down her pile, stood up, took her coat, and began dragging Cody along her.

"Lena? Can I know what are you doing?"

"I'm leaving office, dumbass. Besides, it's lunch hour."

Indeed, noted Cody, it was lunch time. Absorbed by the demonic paper, the Krookodile didn't even noticed the time passing.

"Good. I'm starved. And if I see another damn damage report, I think I will snap. And please, can I have my arm back now?"

Lena released the grip immediately, although she was still leading the way. While they walked, Cody noticed she wasn't taking him towards the front door, which they would normally take to eat at Ed's place, but towards the parking roof.

"Uh? We're not eating at Ed's today?"

"Nope. In two days, you will have to go aboard the most prestigious cruise boat of the country, and you don't have a proper tuxedo. We're going to buy you the complete attire."

"Please, don't tell me you're taking me go _shopping_."

"No, Cody. Taking someone go shopping implies said someone ever had a choice in the first place. The mayor gave you a nice load of money, might as well use it."

She motioned him to sit into the car. The Krookodile reluctantly did so, earning a triumphant smirk on the Lucario's face.

*o*o*o*o*

Lena rode the car towards Mode Street, but of course at this hour, the place was crowded, by cars and pedestrians alike. They ate on the way a sandwich bought at the office's lunch machine, so they could use all the time they had. While Lena was busy cursing and showing her middle finger to the other drivers (who replied with the same kind of actions), Cody's phone rang. Taking it, he saw he was called by Martha Sunders.

_What could my sister-in-law possibly want?_

He answered the call.

"_Hello Cody! How are you!"_

Martha's voice cheerfully echoed through the phone, and Cody thought it strange that his sister-in-law had the same name than Anna's almost adoptive mother.

"I'm doing fine, Martha. How is it going for you?"

"_As a fine as we can do, when you live into a port that triples his population in the summer. It's boring, it's almost depressing there. But enough of me whining. I called you about Zack's birthday._"

"Huh? What of it?"

"_Well, we normally celebrate it in February, his month of birth, but this year we won't be able to. You see, Jordan is going in mission next month, and when he comes back, it's your father that's going to come to Kalos, for about a year. From what I've heard, it's for an exchange treaty between Hoenn and Kalos. And you know how much Zack likes his grandfather…_"

"Yeah, I know…"

Cody sighed at this. He loved his nephew, that was for sure, but he wished he wouldn't blindly follow his grandfather's footsteps.

"_So, I thought we could celebrate Zack's birthday in about a month instead. Could you come around two weeks before Arceusmas?_"

"You're lucky, I still got a couple of days off to take at the office. I would love to come, Martha."

"_Thanks, I was scared we would have to make the birthday without one of you three. Alright, then, see you in a month! And please Cody, this time, bring a gift other than a M rated video game, please._"

"You're never going to let that one down, do you?"

"_Nope. See you later, my dear brother in law._"

She stopped the call. Cody just chuckled at her sister-in-law antics, and put the phone back in his pocket.

"Lena, are we here yet?"

*o*o*o*o*

_Castelia City_

_Mode Street, Castelia's Mall_

The moment the duo passed in front of the mall, they knew something was wrong: there was a fire inside the building, at the fourth floor. And judging by the cries of panic of the customers, he was Pokémon made.

They instantly took their weapons out, parked their car nearby, and entered the mall. Once inside, apart from the cries, everything looked normal: on the first floor, the smoke didn't come yet. In the middle of the crowd, they saw a Tangrowth, positively livid (or as livid as a living plant could be), and yelling at a bunch of Pokémons who were the security guard, judging by their uniform.

"Thanks to your stupidity, there are hostages on the fourth floor, now? How can you say you did your job correctly? Someone brought in a flamethrower, for Giratina's sake! How could you have been blind to this?"

"Sir, if we had the right to proceed to complete checks on any suspect person at the entrance…"

"A _flamethrower_! You don't need to do a check to see a flamethrower, it's two times my size!"

"Excuse me" interrupted Cody. "Castelia Police Department" said the Krookodile while showing his badge, "what's going on here?"

The Tangrowth, who was apparently the mall's owner, answered:

"There is a hostage taking on the fourth floor, into the drugstore. We don't have a clue about the agressors' identity."

"Thank you, sir. Lena, we're moving! We got hostages to save."

The two cops began climbing the stairs, seeing the elevator was shut down for obvious reasons. They passed by the second floor, where people still evacuated, and then the third, where no one was in sight. They continued towards the fourth, but about two thirds of the way, they had to duck for cover to escape a salvo from a submachine gun. At the end of the stairs stood a Flareon, clad in a black combination integrating a bullet-proof, and wearing a headband around his mouth. His gloved hands were wielding a gun of quality, brand new, and judging by how he kept them in check instead of shooting blindly and wasting his ammunition, he knew how to use it.

"Boss" said he in walkie-talkie inserted in a pocket on his chest "We got two people trying to play hero at the main stairs."

"_Understood. I'm sending reinforcements. Keep them at bay._"

Cody knew this was bad news. He and Lena had to take care of the Fire-Type presto, or they might as well surrender now. He looked around him to find something that could help him, when he saw the Flareon was standing under a lamp hanging from the ceiling. Quickly devising a plan, he made hand gestures at his colleague, who answered him back. Once they were ready, Lena shot at the lamp. The Flareon had enough reflexes to dodge the falling hazard, but he stepped right into Cody's path, who was charging. The Krookodile managed to grab the Flareon's neck, made him turn over and fall on the ground, took his gun, and used the cross to strike him on the head. The Flareon went unconscious.

"One down. I'm taking your toy, big guy."

Cody inspected the gun, only for him to realize they were _not_ dealing with small-timers: the weapon was a submachine gun made by Illumis Technologies, a Kalosian weapon manufacturer that built models in short series, always trying to innovate. Needless to say, this combined with the deadly efficiency of the weapons, made Illumi Technologies armament expensive. Why professionals were harassing shopping addicts and a drugstore's owner, he had no idea.

"Cody, there are two more coming at us!"

Cody turned to see that a Simisear and a Heatmor were rushing at them, and they all were as well equipped as their friend. Soon enough, bullets began to fly, and once again the cops had to duck for cover.

"Cod, we can't keep up like this! If we don't go to the drugstore fast enough they will kill the hostages!"

"I know! I saw on the map that it was about three hallways later in those guys' direction! If you manage to go behind them while I draw their fire, you will be able to reach it in time!"

"What about you?"

"I will catch up after I'm done with them! Now, go!"

Lena followed the order, walking on the left of the hallway, taking a detour to catch their enemies unaware. Meanwhile, Cody was still trying to come with a plan to pass the two Fire-Types, when one of them threw a grenade. It was perfect lob, falling right at Cody's feet. What they didn't know, however, was that the Krookodile had practiced for this kind of situation often, and launched back the grenade almost as quickly as it came. Judging by the surprise in the other two's voices, it worked. One second later, an explosion was heard, and Cody lost no time in rushing to his two downed enemies.

He saw the Simisear first, and gave him the same treatment than his Flareon colleague. However, the Heatmor got back on his feet, and began aiming. Cody was faster however, and shot first. Right in the heart. The Fire-Type, whom the bulletproof protection was apparently faulty, fell in silence. Cody rushed past the two bodies, and turned at the third hallway. Once he was in, he saw on the other side of the hallway Lena, which was good news. Then, in the middle he saw the drugstore in flames, with three other people getting out of it, which was bad news. And the Talonflame among them, a female apparently, rushed towards him all talons out, which was really bad news.

Cody managed to dodge the Flying-Type fury by a small margin, while Lena was busy dealing with a Pyroar female. He managed to saw their apparent leader, a Houndoom, entering the drugstore. He was, however, busy with more urging matters, such as the Talonflame, who he could see now had made a transplant on their talons to have of copies of them in _steel_, trying to eviscerate him. She was fast, and Cody had to keep evading three more times before he found an opening and grabbed the woman's head, before smashing it on the ground, interrupting her flight quite violently. He heard the sound of two heads smashing against each other, and he knew Lena had headbutted her opponent, which meant only the Houndoom remained.

That's when they saw him walking out of the flames unfazed, and they could study him more clearly: he wore the same combination than the others, but with a stripe of gold on his right shoulder, indicating him as the leader. He also held with one hand a massive flamethrower that Cody highly suspected to be custom-made. In his other hand, he was pushing a cart with a dozen of boxes on it. They held of kind of medicaments, apparently without any link.

He saw that he was surrounded, and paused for a moment. Then, as Lena readied herself to strike, he pushed the cart down the hallway at abnormal speed… Until the Flareon from earlier caught it.

"Go to the extraction point, now!" roared the leader. The Flareon nodded and ran while pushing the cart. Cody tried to run after him, only to be met by an angry Houndoom who charged his flamethrower. Cody ran back the other way, catching Lena on the go, while a torrent of fire poured on them. When they got up, they saw that one: the Houndoom was gone, and two: the hostages were all burned to crisps by the fire.

Just like at Equality's headquarters, there was only black masses that could have passed as corpses. The fire was still raging inside. Cody couldn't look away at the scene of destruction and monstrosity held in front of him, until Lena grabbed him firmly.

"Cody. We're going to stop him. Now."

Cody regained his senses, and began running with his partner towards the direction the Houndoom took. They managed to catch up with him and the Flareon quicly, until he saw that they cut the glass of the panoramic window of the floor.

And that a helicopter was flying in stand-by just in front of it. They were busy loading their shipment inside it, when the Houndoom noticed them.

"Keep loading. I will take care of this."

And he began walking towards the duo. Cody quickly raised his weapon, and fired… only for it to stop working. He noticed the Houndoom's smirk and the remote control he held in his hands.

"Alright, you want to play it mano a mano, bastard?" muttered the Krookodile.

Lena readied herself, too, and the two cops began charging in close quarters towards the Houndoom. Lena. Was the first to reach him, and began striking.

But then, the Houndoom grabbed her, stopping her in the middle of her assault, and said two simple words

"**Fire Blast**"

As soon as he finished, he threw a ball of fire that formed itself in his mouth right back at Lena, and the ball promptly made a five branch symbol upon impact. And Lena _screamed_.

After the attack, the Houndoom released her hand, and she fell on the floor, sever burn marks all over her body.

"I believe it is super effective" spoke quietly the Houndoom.

"That was a Move… You used a Move on her…" Cody couldn't believe his eyes. Moves had disappeared from the world after the Erasure. And yet, the man in front of him had executed a perfect Fire Blast, burned Lena alive without even using his flamethrower, just his mouth.

"I need to say, Captain, you were impressive, you and your partner. To blast through my team so easily… You are quite skilled."

Cody still couldn't bring himself to move, terrified by the Houndoom.

"That's why, if you survive this encounter…" said the Houndoom while charging power into his mouth again, although this time it wasn't fire, but light. "you will be able to say that you met Sergei Donovoï! **Solar Beam** !"

Cody then only saw light, and then darkness.


	5. Chapter 5 : Guilt and despair

**So... Yeah. Four month hiatus. Yup. In all honesty, I think I could have tried to update sooner. However, problems with my exams, with my family (slight ones, nothing too dramatical) and the whole 'I'm going on holidays one month and a half outside of France without my computer and a stable internet connexion proved difficult to overcome in the first place, but also made me lose interest in writing this fic. In fact, I even forgot about it for a moment.**

**When I remembered it, I felt like an asshole. To me, who promised myself to carry on this story until the end, as well as to you, whom I promised to deliver said story for you to read it. Coincidentally, inspiration came back at that exact moment. Strange isn't it?**

**Here comes Chapter 5 of To Protect and to Serve. Hope you like it. And hopefully, more to come soon :)**

**Sorry for the wait guys.**

**Disclaimer : Nintendo and Gamefreak own Pokemon**

*o*o*o*o*

_Castelia City_

_Castelia's Hospital_

Cody awoke painfully.

As soon as he regained consciousness, he became well aware that his whole body _hurt_.

"Doctor! The patient is finally awake!"

He heard footsteps around him, but couldn't see very well around him, his vision blurred. He wondered how he could have ended in this situation. All he remembered was that he needed to buy a suit, and that Lena took him to the mall for that.

It came back to him as painfully as it was to wake up. The hostages. The burning. The Houndoom. Lena's scream of hurt and fear. The last words he heard.

The fact that he took a Solar Beam in the face, despite it having been proved impossible by scientists around the world to tap into elemental energies since the Erasure, hurt the most.

"Quick! Stabilize him!"

He heard the sound of a syringe being prepared, and was suddenly hit with it in the arm, the liquid inside it quickly pouring in his blood.

Little by little, the pain receded, and his vision came back. The first thing he saw was the lamp placed over him. He blinked his eyes at the light.

The second was the Audino nurse, who was deftly tending to his apparent wounds. Sunburns. Severe sunburns.

_Of course_, he thought. _Solar beam give me sunburns. That would have make me laugh, if they didn't hurt so fuckingly bad._

The nurse and the doctor, an Ampharos who just arrived in the room, steadied him up, making him seat instead of lying on the bed. Cody's feeling of pain and mood were getting better by the instant. He recognized in the syringe some kind of blue liquid left.

_Oran Infusion. Of course._

Oran Berries were used to heal Pokémon wounds with minimal costs and great effect over time, so of course he would be treated with it.

"Where am I?" managed to speak Cody.

"In Castelia's Hospital Emergency Room, sir. Please, calm down" said the nurse.

Cody, not acknowledging the request, looked at the room. He saw he was the only one in there with his caretakers. He got up as fast as he could.

"Sir! Please, stay in bed! You're in no condition to leave it yet!" yelled the doctor.

Cody shook him off, and walked slowly towards the door. The doctor tried to stop him once again.

"My partner may be lying dead in the next room for all I know. If you don't tell me where she is and let me go see her in the instant, I will investigate and find a charge against you, and you will rot in jail with rapers and murderers. _Speak_."

"In the next room on the right" blurted the terrified Ampharos. "Please, don't send me in jail."

"Thank you."

And just like that, he grabbed his belongings conveniently placed on a chair near the door, and got out. Once the door passed, he immediately turned right, reached the door, and grabbed the handle before pushing it and entering the room.

"Cody."

Rob spoke with surprise upon seeing his friend entering the room, and jostled Logan from his sad gaze, but Cody barely noticed them when he found out Lena's body, unconscious, and charred almost beyond recognizing. The machine that kept track of her heartbeat rang periodically, bringing the small comfort that she was still alive, at least.

Cody suddenly lost the strength to stand a moment longer.

He noticed Rob and Logan rushing to his side, helping him getting up.

"It's my fault… I should have never told her to rush to him that way…"

"Nobody blames you Cody" tried to comfort Rob. "No one could have predicted it."

"I agree" said Logan. "I want to tear the guy who did this into shreds, but it's certainly not you. She got hit by something everyone thought disappeared decades ago! It's not your fault."

Cody, despite his friends' protestations, couldn't help but feel this wasn't the case.

*o*o*o*o*

"Alright. Now that we came upon a common ground, I'm all ears."

Anna was smirking victoriously at the young junkie in front of her, a Gothorita whom she already forgot the name, a foot placed on her victim's face, face that was bleeding quite strongly. Around the two of them were lying her friends from her gang, the Gothic Lolitas, an all-female, all gothic and all dumb gang that had nothing better to do that to drunk themselves all day while whining on how society never understood and will never understand them.

Anna would never even have thought of coming in their turf, but one, AML cases had been repeatedly reported among them recently, and two, Cody and Lena have been knocked down by the mysterious Sergei at the mall assault, with only Cody faring well after one day of unconsciousness. Lena was still in her hospital bed.

When Cody found out how much time he was out, he went immediately back to work, to the shock of both Darius and Leon, who never saw the Krookodile this angry before.

"This time, they made it personal", has he been heard whispering vehemently while studying through the various reports and mappings of the city, looking for other clues besides the famous meeting on the Grand Unova scheduled the next evening. They were about to board without even a slight knowledge of who was going to be there, and what they will do.

The only relief so far came from the mayor, who said he would provide a list of his acquaintances boarding that day and some details about them, as well as volunteering to board himself with his son to provide much needed emotional support.

The Gothic Lolitas have been their only real clue so far, and Anna offered to do the interrogatory: Cody was far too weak, Lena unconscious, Rob clearly wasn't cut for that kind of job, and Logan didn't want to provoke the wrath of other gangs allied with the Lolitas. Anna, as such, was the perfect candidate to go on the field.

And as of now, the Gothorita, wearing an outfit that tried so hard to be dark and edgy all it really did was offer a cheap laugh to the ones seeing it, was regretting deeply her decision of saying no to the Scrafty.

"What do you want to know?"

Rare feat this day, she was able to talk correctly, seeing she wasn't high on drugs as usual.

"The AML. How, when and where you got it, and who sold it to you. Tell me everything you know."

The Scrafty took her foot away from her victim's face, who sat on the ground.

"We got it at the docks. We never met the man in person, but he told us to bring a wallet with the payment there. Once we arrived, a Houndoom took the wallet, made the accounting, and told us the drug would arrive at our basement in two hours. It did."

"A Houndoom? How come you're sure he wasn't the dealer?"

"Because he made it very clear he was working for someone else. He always spoke of his Master. I dunno if it was a master in the master-servant sense or the other but…"

"Not that kind of detail, thank you very much. How was he like?"

"Oh, pretty standard, even if a bit rash. Had a nasty scar on the left cheek though. You could still see the flesh in some places."

"Wait… On the left cheek?"

"Yeah the left. Don't look at me like that, I know it was the left! I wasn't on high that day, never on a deal, so I know for sure that was it. The left."

"When was the deal?" asked urgently Anna.

"Erm… I think it was two days ago. In the evening. Yeah I remember! Two days ago, when the mall was in fire! You remember right?"

"Thank you. If I ever find out you lied, I come back to finish the job."

And on that threat, Anna ran away from the shady street the Lolitas used as their meeting ground.

"Eh! That was mean!"

Anna barely heard her, as she grabbed her phone, and composed Cody's number.

"_Anna. Any news?_"

"Oh, you bet. Our new friend works for the dealer."

"_Excuse me, I think I didn't hear well, were you just giving me the proof I needed to put a warrant on that guy?_"

"Exactly. The conversation is registered in my phone and in the backup files I gave you access to. The Kirlia mentioned he had a very nasty scar on the left cheek, and that he coincidentally just happened to have it fresh the evening you met at the mall."

The camera footage took at the mall showed to see Cody managed to land a shot at the Houndoom before he got unconscious, and it hit the left cheek. Too many things were concurring for doubt to stay. Sergei was involved in the AML case.

"_Now we know we need to investigate his trail. I'm working on it as of now, and what I heard so far isn't good._"

"Something the matter?"

"_Yeah. He's part of mercenary band born in Orre. He got quite the bloody CV, if you ask me._"

"Wonderful. We're dealing with professionals. Yeah."

"_No need to be sarcastic, I'm as happy about it as you are. Judging by his profile, however, I think he defected. Compared to his previous whereabouts, his whole business in Castelia is strange to say the least. Why would he need to raid a drugstore in its entirety?_"

"Cody, wait a second. Did you just told me he raided a drugstore?"

"_Yeah, why? Didn't I already tell you?_"

"Cody… A man dealing the drug we're on the trail of raided a _drug_store."

The line was deadly silent on the other end for a moment.

"_Oh._"

"Yes. Oh."

"_How come we didn't see it earlier? Of course they would need to get their paws on medical equipment resources to recreate the formula. They can't create it out of the blue!_"

"Of course they can't, genius! Seriously, guys, do I have to do all the work myself? I'm going to take your job if it keeps on, you know?"

"_I would gladly accept that if that meant Darius and Leon dying in a tragic accident._"

"Be careful what you wish for, or I might want to keep that promise."

"_You wouldn't last two days behind a desk._"

Anna rolled her eyes.

"Asshole. I'm going back to the station for a briefing with Rob and Logan. See you later."

The Scrafty thief rang up, and pulled her phone back in her pocket, and got back to her motorbike. While she started the engine, however, a question started nagging her mind.

_Why did the Houndoom revealed his name to us?_

*o*o*o*o*

_Castelia City_

_Unknown_

"Sergei, I am thoroughly disappointed with you."

The Houndoom was bending the knee on the wooden ground, the richly decorated room providing only small light, the windows with view on the city nightscape not doing much at night, and the tatse of the owner was to keep all lights out when he wanted to be intimidating.

"Master, I did my mission."

"You did not. Yes, the medical supplies I asked you to bring to me are indeed here. However, you let the two policemen run away with their lives."

"I scarred them. Burnt them. Hurt them, in their bodies, their pride and their mind. They won't be nuisance."

His master's laugh rang into the dark room, hollow and devoid of joy.

"Sergei, there are times when I wonder how did you manage to stay alive in the craphole that's Orre. Your beating only strengthened their resolve to stop us, you dimwitted fool."

The master stayed deadly calm as he spoke, not once raising his voice in the slightest.

"And it appears the Krookodile actually does have some of the Legends' might in his blood, although diluted."

"Master… You can't possibly imply that he is…"

"I'm not implying it, I'm stating a fact. Sunders is a Half-Blood. How would you explain his miraculous recovery after the Solar Beam he took, especially if he didn't have any experience with the old Pokemon battlestyle of Moves?"

"He never had a single symptom of it, the scientists said so! His genealogical tree has been traced back to ten generations beforehand, way too far for a Legend's inheritance to manifest, even with a proper trigger!"

"His mother is a complete illuminated."

"Huh? Master I don't understand…"

"What I am implying is that being a Half-Blood doesn't necessarily requires to have a Legend as genitor. His mother must have practiced an esoterical ritual whom I have underestimated the relevance while she was pregnant, and as such Cody became infused with a Legend's essence. Though which one, that still eludes me."

"And his powers would manifest even before the triggering event that strongly? All studies on the subject you _and _that madman of a Charizard did proved it impossible!"

"Sergei, the facts are here. You can either delude yourself into thinking he is an easy prey, or prepare for your next encounter accordingly. Cody Sunders is a Half-Blood by blessing, and as such must be treated as serious threat."

"Why would he be the exception that confirms the rule?"

"Why wouldn't he be? There is no specific reason for another man to be instead. And remember he might have been in contact with small doses of AML before. And we all know what does that do to Half-Bloods, remember?"

"His powers couldn't have triggered with small doses."

"Indeed, but that could have stopped it being dormant. He only has a fraction of the power available to him as of now, after all."

The Houndoom grunted.

"If that is the case, then we might as well strike him before he gets too close of the truth."

"No. We will let him come."

"WHAT?"

"If you could please refrain from shouting, my ears aren't fond of your whining."

"This… this is madness!"

"This is my _plan_, Sergei, and you would better remember if there is a thing I am not, it's mad. We will move our pawns on the chessboard so that he will be forced to choose in the end: his loved ones, or his duty. I trust you already have our contact inside of the police in touch?"

"Yes Master. I kept him in the black, like you asked, but baited him with the promise of money."

"Good. You will not intercept them when they board that boat. You will let them know where and when the next meeting to sell the drug will be held by way of our agent. And when the time to strike has come for him, it will be already too late for Sunders to not fall into the trap. You shall also deal immediately with the fool that tried to infiltrate my network lately. You have your instructions, so you can dispose now, Sergei."

"Your wish is my command, Master."

The Houndoom stood up, and began walking outside the room. On his way, though, he heard his master's voice again.

"Sergei?"

"Yes Master?"

"Do you remember what did your comrades of the Delta Squadron promised to do to you if you ever left my protection?"

"I do, Master" shivered the Houndoom.

"Mention once again my involvement with Drake and Team Rocket without being told to, and I will do that with my own claws."

The Houndoom gulped silently. He met a lot of men in his life, but his Master was easily the most freightening. Not once did he turned back to threaten him or belittle him in the conversation, despite Sergei being a former mercenary that could kill almost everybody, especially if they turned their back to him.

His master wasn't everybody. And they both knew it.

*o*o*o*o*

_Castelia City_

_Police Station_

"I can't believe we let that one go unnoticed for so long. I mean, drugstore, drug… The connection is so _obvious_!"

"Thanks Rob, for moving the knife in my wound."

The night settled upon the city, and as fitting of a metropolis of this size, the streets were nonetheless lighted almost as brightly as if it was the day. Anna, Rob and Cody were currently inside Cody's office, way past the closing hours, to discuss and finalize their plan.

"For the last time, Cody, I'm sorry I called you an asshole, alright? It's just that I was angry we weren't already covering this trail despite it probably being very important. Plus, you just woke up from coma, of course you wouldn't piece everything together immediately."

Cody only huffed at Anna's apology, his pride hurt. However, knowing that Anna's apology was sincere, he reluctantly accepted it after a minute.

"Alright, you win, I'm not angry at you. Now if we could please come back to the matter we were discussing before someone decided to remind me my mistake, I would be most satisfied. So…"

Cody looked once again at the white wall where the three investigators placed all of their informations.

"We now know for a fact Mr Burneverything is working for our man, and that, given his apparent mode of action, he is indeed behind the burning at Equality's headquarters, joining the two cases. Which means that man is now our top-priority. Tomorrow evening, me and Anna are going to board the Grand Unova, passing for a couple, along the mayor and his son, while Rob will stay over there and provide radio feed. Thanks to the list Mr Dowell is going to give us when he arrives, we should be able to know who is suspect, and act accordingly. The Houndoom is probably going to be there, too. Seeing the success of our last attempt, fighting him is not advised in the slightest. Once we got our paws on the ones participating in the deal, we bring them back here, we question them, and we know the why and the how. Any questions?"

After the whole speech, the other two Pokémon stayed silent for a moment, before Rob asked the question he was afraid to ask…

"Cody, you do know we are going to fight him if he's here, right?"

"…I know."

"But how? I mean, he used a Move! He could kill us if he wanted to!"

"Look Rob, in all honesty, I know that if we run up into him, we're screwed. But unless you know of a way to teach us how to fight like our ancestors did before the Erasure, we can't even hope to be on his level. Especially if he backs it up with top grade military equipment."

"So… What do we do?"

"We hope" somberly said Anna.

The three remained silent for a moment, taking in how dire their situations would be should they board the boat.

That's when they heard knocking.

"Mr Sunders? Can I come in?"

It was Mortimer Dowell's voice.

"Mr Mayor! Yes, of course!"

The door to Cody's private office opened on not one, but two Sawsbucks. The mayor brought his son along.

"Hey Aleister" said Lena. "Although it's good to see you in shape after that whole drive chase thing, I'm not really sure why you're here."

"Wait. You two know each other?" Cody's exclamation.

"Of course! I mean, I stole his car once."

"And… you're friends despite that?"

"Oh, yes, the one who paid me to steal the car was an asshole that tried to cross me. I beat him, I brought back the car, and gave this gallant gentleman here a little bonus straight from the moron's pocket."

"So that's how it ended up back in our garage…" mused Mortimer.

"And, well… The car she tried to stole was actually the one you tried to stop that night, sir…" shakily said Aleister.

"Oh, so you were the one that managed to catch him? Congrats, Cody! He's very good with a car, you know. I mean, he managed to get me out of the sewers after a poker night that turned wrong."

"You mean he brought a car in the sewers?"

"He was drunk that day."

"Anna, please" pleaded Aleister "Stop talking about this in front of… you know?" said he while pointing both his father and Cody.

"I think it would be in everyone's better interest. Especially mine" managed to say a very troubled and dumbfounded Mortimer.

"Yeah, I agree. I don't want to have to throw him in jail tonight."

"Alright. But going back to my question, why are you here?"

"Well, I'm boarding the boat with you all."

Silence rang in the room.

"Not to sound insulting to you sir, but have you lost your mind?"

"I'm sorry, Mr Sunders, but he insisted. He managed, Arceus knows how, to become aware of what we were planning to do, and insisted to tag along."

Cody sighed.

"Alright. And now, Aleister, can I know why would you want to risk your life with us?"

"Well, after the whole… erm, incident we had with my car…"

_That's the euphemism of the century_, thought everyone in the room.

"And what you told me during it, I decided to change. To really change, like, stop being drunk and drugged every night, ruining my life like that, gaining responsibilities… I thought about how I could have killed people with my stupidity, and I told myself I didn't want that. So, I'm here."

Aleister radiated a whole new air since the last time Cody saw him, in the same building. Before, he was a cocky and arrogant brat. Now… Cody was sure he somehow managed to mature during those last days.

"Alright, I understand. Although you could still stop yourself this trouble if you just tell me what you were about to tell me before we were interrupted last time."

"I can't Mr Sunders. He phoned me after my deliverance, and he told me that if I said his name even once, he would know, and he would kill me. He rang up just after that."

"So, remind me why are you going to come with us, then?"

"Well… He told me I couldn't denounce him. He never told me about his associates, though."

*o*o*o*o*

_Castelia City_

_Mode Street_

Edward felt nervous.

It was a bad sign. He hadn't been nervous since the day with the Kalosian whore, twelve years ago. He knew he could see everyone in this forsaken city come at him, he would beat it and stand strong like he always did.

For the second time in his life, he felt really, really, _really_ overwhelmed by the situation. When he started his personal investigation, he did it nonchalantly. It wasn't the first time Cody asked for a service, and it wouldn't be the last. Ed was always glad to help his friend.

He had a lot of services he did to other too, and despite Cody, his other friends didn't have the luxury of having saved him of the mess he embarked twelve years ago.

Tongues spoke. Whether it was by smiles and promises, by money, by threats, by memories or by beatings administered by some gangs he had a favor to reclaim of, he managed to track back the trail all on his own.

Meanwhile, he saw the whole mess at the mall. He saw Cody and Lena in their hospital beds. He saw Anna, too, although they never met in person. While Cody and his team worked their way, Ed worked his own. While they tried to reach the dealer by slowly looking for the parts of his hierarchical chain, Ed tried to infiltrate the vendors that were in direct contact with him.

He succeeded. And what he learned terrified him.

Now he doubted. He waited for the workday to end, not willing to scare his employees by the news he was going to share with Cody right now. Once he made sure the door of the Bagel Emporium was closed, he went off. He noticed his paws, both his main and his tail ones, were shaking. The street was abnormally empty in this beginning of winter, but he didn't pay it attention. He got out his phone, only to see there wasn't any network.

"Damn it" cursed quietly the Ambipom. Guess he would have to wait to reach his apartment.

He continued walking in the cold street, almost every shop closed. Such was the law of Sunday nights: shopkeepers closed for the night and would only reopen Tuesday morning. He turned left, into the little street where was located his apartment. He tried again on his phone, and once again failed. No network.

_That's not normal._ _There can't be a network failure right when I need to use it the most._

Ed sped up. He saw a Flareon up in the street, walking quietly. They met without saying a single word halfway across it. Ed tried once again, but the network was still down.

_Come on, you piece of garbage._

While he was busy cursing his phone, he heard a whistle. Or, more precisely, a man whistling. It came from the other half of the narrow street. He saw a shape moving towards him, still unrecognizable in the night.

Suddenly, Ed heard people behind him. The Flareon he met earlier stood on all fours. That meant he meant business, seeing as most quadruped Pokémon stood on two paws to imitate bipeds ones and to better fit in usually. The reverted back to all fours when they needed to go fast. Or battle hard. Next to him was standing a Heatmor. They were both looking at him.

Ed turned, only to saw another Fire-Type, a Darmanitan, exiting the entry hall of the building where Ed lived, and just stood here, arms crossed. He was looking at him.

Up in front of him, he saw the silhouette gaining a shape, and slowly getting out of the shadows. The man still whistled. When Ed saw the man in the light of the lamp, his blood ran cold.

In front of him stood a Houndoom. He had a nasty scar on the left cheek, still fresh. His eyes gleamed with cruel joy.

And he was whistling.

He had a small device in his hand. Ed didn't recognize it.

The Houndoom stopped whistling and started talking at him.

"It's wonderful. Technology I mean. Don't you agree? With this small little box, I can interrupt all of the network in 500 meters around me. And my friends got some too! This way, we can have this wonderful little chit-chat in the street at night without being interrupted. Isn't it great, Ed?"

"I don't know what you want from me. I got a friend to call, and a bed to go in, and you're stopping me from doing both. So get off. I don't know you, and I don't want to."

He heard clicking behind him.

"If you move another inch, Ed, you're shot in the back."

Ed didn't have the urge to turn and see if the Houndoom was right. He was sure of it.

"You got your hands on information way too valuable for you to use. Pawns on the chessboard aren't kings, and you, Ed, are just a pawn in my Master's plan. I can't let you go and tell the adversary king this capital information that soon in the game, now, can I?"

Ed knew at this moment he wouldn't make it. That wouldn't stop him to try to stall and call for help.

"He's doomed to fail. The authorities will react. Not the ones in Castelia. Everyone, from Kanto to Kalos. There will be countermeasures. Opposition. Your mad dream will never be a reality."

The Houndoom almost seemed displeased by this.

"How boring. And here I thought you would beg for your life."

"And how would that serve me? You're already going to kill me."

"You're way too smart for your own good, Ed."

The Houndoom got off a handgun, and pointed it at Ed's head.

"When you will be in the Hall, keep some places warm."

**_Bang_**

"Because your friends are next."

The Ambipom's lifeless body fell on the ground.

The first snowflake of the year started to fall.


	6. Chapter 6 : On board (Part 1)

**Hi everyone, Darren here, with what is so far the longest chapter I ever wrote! Are you guys happy? I am happy.**

**So, at last the cruise boat scene. I built it up for some time, now, and I hope I did well! Since my schedule has been pretty hectic this last month, I had to take some time to end this chapter properly, and I fear it will be the same with the next one. Nonetheless, I really hope you will all enjoy this!**

**I would like to also thank the reviewers, both anonymous and user ones, for telling what they thought of my work :) (To Cavik96 : I know it is kind of silly, but in canon, the characters almost always shout their attacks' names before executing them. Rest assured that, later in the story, some characters are going to take advantage of this flaw ^^)**

**P.S: before you wonder, this chapter is actually a two-parter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. If I did, my story would be in the works to be a spin-off game!**

*o*o*o*o*

_Castelia City_

_Cruise Dock_

As usual, the cruise attracted a lot of people. Dozens of Pokemon, almost all of them part of the upper class, were patiently waiting on the dock.

Captain Richie smiled. Another busy evening in perspective, yes, but he didn't mind it. He loved his job, and it was always a pleasure to be in command of such a marvelous ship. The Royal Unova, or Grand Unova for some, a masterpiece, a jewel of the seas. The fine line of the ship, its pearl-like hull, the richly decorated cabins… Truly, he was lucky to serve on it.

The Floatzel stopped holding the guardrail, and ceased his observation of the crowd eager to embark. He had work to do, and to do efficiently. He placed his captain's cap back where it belonged, his head, and walked towards the command room.

He was troubled, however. One of his customers called him yesterday. Despite the fact he never gave any passenger his personal phone number. Said customer had been very clear about what he wanted. And what would happen should Ritchie deny his request.

That was why he lowered the security to the minimal level today. It was only for setting the proper mood for a 'business transaction', he called it. His customer had been very clear that, should he obey, he wouldn't be in danger once. But the threat destined to him made him shudder, still. If his relationship with his new lover, a Skuntank of the likes he never met before, generous, happy-go-lucky and determined, was to be unveiled…

It was enough to say his boss was a racist that believed all Poison, Dark and Ghost-Types were the defects of Arceus's creation. And he also forced Ritchie to marry one of his daughters to get his job.

Eleanor wasn't a bad wife, though. She was just… absent. The Simipour and himself just weren't meant to live together, and certainly not to love each other. They came to an understanding years ago: they would be husband and wife only in name.

Thankfully for Richie, Eleanor was understanding. When she discovered her husband's affair, she had a sad smile, and declared "I just hope you will be happy with her. You deserve it."

It was a shame. Eleanor was a wonderful girl, in all honesty, but the truth was that she was lesbian. Daughter of a highborn-family, needless to say, her household didn't take upon the news well. The forced marriage was her father's last try to settle her with someone.

But now, somehow, someone else discovered Richie affair with Beth, his Skuntank lover. Someone far less understanding.

He never had a choice. It was either that, or he lost his job, his belongings, his dignity and most importantly, his love. Because the moment his father-in-law heard of Beth, he wouldn't have any other obsession than to see her dead. And with so many gangs just waiting to be paid to strike, Richie bet it wouldn't be long before he got his wish.

But Richie had faith. His customer promised him it would be all right, that everything was under control. A man of such wealth and intelligence, surely he couldn't be wrong. Richie got himself a composure. He decided that he would begin to spare his money for a new project: he would flee to Kanto. He was sure he could get a job on the S.S. Anne given his work experience. And there, he would be free to be with Beth in a happy relationship.

Of course, he would take Eleanor with him. Even though they didn't sleep together even once since their marriage, they formed a sort of bond that, while still not friendship, wasn't that far behind. She deserved to be with who she wanted to, and in Castelia, it wouldn't be possible.

It was decided. He needed the substantial bonus his customer offered him. He entered the command room triumphantly, and beamed to his coworkers.

"Alright, gentlemen! Time to let our dear customers in!"

*o*o*o*o*

"I'm feeling awful in that suit."

"Relax. Take a deep breath, and imagine you're not wearing anything unusual."

"Gee, thanks. Easier said than done."

"If you think I never had to wear outfits worse than those before, you're wrong."

"What could possibly be worse than this?"

"Hmm, I don't know, did you have to disguise yourself as a spokesperson for a cheese company?"

"No I nev… Wait… _Cheese_?!"

"I smelled for days, I prefer not to tell you."

"How did you need to disguise as a living cheese for your job?"

"The guy I targeted worked for said company. He was in charge of all the spokesperson of the city."

"That sounds awfully simple when you put it like that."

Cody and Anna were waiting for the crew to let them board, like all of their soon-to-be fellow passengers. And Cody didn't like the suit, although pretty, he was wearing in the slightest.

"Come on, Cody, you have to try a little bit harder. Need I remind you why are you here?"

"Alright, alright, I will try."

Cody followed his partner's tip, and soon enough, the uneasiness sensation receded, only for it to become almost irrelevant.

"Hey! That works!"

"Told you."

Anna, for her part, was wearing a long night robe, deep crimson with golden lines running wildly upon its surface. Cody understood now why a lot of people got themselves fooled by her when she was playing the seduction card: she had that air of confidence and power that some men just loved to break. Anna was stronger than them every time, however, and managed to have them do her bidding.

Cody shook his head suddenly, realizing he may be staring a little bit too intently towards the Scrafty. Thankfully though, Anna saw nothing, seeing as she was distracted by the providential arrival of the mayor and his son.

"Miss Orwell" saluted Mortimer. "A pleasure to meet you again."

It was obvious the Sawsbuck wore his suit with far more easiness than Cody was, almost as if he was born in it. His son, Aleister, didn't fare that well, although he was still better off than Cody. The two of them discarded their autumn form to take upon their winter one, indicating the recent coming of the winter upon the city.

Once the salutations were done, Mortimer began talking.

"I'm afraid I have disturbing news. If the booking list my friend gave me is right, then there is way too much foreign Pokemon embarking for this time of the year."

"And why is that so?" intervened Cody.

"At this time of the year, tourists are scarce in Castelia, especially when it comes to the ones able to afford a cruise on the Royal. There shouldn't be so many. Why it isn't the case is simple: the deal you managed to know upon is indeed real, and the buyers are planning to sell it across our borders."

"Shit, they're already thinking of selling it worldwide."

"Yes, but come to think about it" interrupted Anna, "we're going to have an easier time finding out who is going to buy: a foreign Pokemon that is probably either shady or is followed by a group of bodyguards, no?"

"And I could recognize one of the dealer's men if I saw him, so we could target both end of the deal at once!" said Aleister.

"Sounds like a good plan. Now we just have to wait for the boarding to begin…"

"_Ladies and gentlemen_" suddenly rang a gentle voice through loudspeakers place on the boat. "_We are pleased to announce that the boarding will be beginning in an instant. Thank you for waiting._"

An approving clamor could be heard from the crowd, glad to finally be able to board.

Cody and Anna exchanged glances, nodded, and Anna came near him, putting her arm under his to give the illusion of an actual couple. The mayor and his son weren't that far behind. The man checking their tickets let them pass without a problem, and soon the pair was boarding the Royal Unova.

*o*o*o*o*

"Captain? Are you sure everything is alright?"

Ritchie nervously turned to see one of his men inquiring about him. The young Linoone had a worried look stuck on his face.

"Since the first passengers began to board, you've been looking all around the ship as if you saw a demon. Is something the matter?"

_Damn me and my inability to act_, thought the captain of the ship. _Am I really that obvious?_

He couldn't express those thoughts verbally in front of his employees, however, so he came up instead with an explanation.

"The lunch not passing very well. I usually end up more nervous than usual when I'm sick. Don't worry about it, it will disappear soon enough."

The Linoone was instantly reassured by that. He nodded and went back to his post, not before he muttered a "Sorry to have disturbed you."

Ritchie let out a small sigh of relief. Everything was going to be all right. He inhaled strongly, to help him focus. After a few seconds of this treatment, he got noticeably better.

That's when his phone rang.

_Probably one of the first mates calling me to ask for help down there_, thought the Floatzel. He took the phone and answered the call.

"Captain Ritchie here."

"_Good evening, Captain._"

Ritchie's blood instantly froze. It was his infamous customer.

"_It appears some… complications happened. We have reasons to think someone betrayed us, and revealed what we intended to do in this marvelous evening._"

_No. Please Arceus, no_. Complications. Betrayal. Those two words did not mean something pretty was coming for the Floatzel.

"_My associates have doubts about your loyalty. Of course, I told them you wouldn't be so rude as to denounce us, but my men insisted. So we came to a compromise instead._"

"A… compromise, sir?"

"_Yes, a compromise. You will have to prove yourself once more. Don't worry, this test of faith will be quite simple. To put it short, we got your girlfriend._"

"What? Why did you…"

"_The why is of no importance. What is, is that, should some harm come to any of the parties involved in any way, well… I'm not giving you details, but your father-in-law will be more than grateful to us, should it come down to this._"

Ritchie wanted to shout, but he knew he couldn't even do that with so many of his staff near him.

"You… filthy… bastard!" hissed he between his teeth. "We had an agreement!"

"_Agreement broken the moment Cody fucking Sunders boarded your ship. He is NOT here by chance, especially if he brought a notorious member of the underworld scene to serve as his cover._"

"How was I supposed to know…"

"_Remember, captain. If something goes wrong…_"

Ritchie heard a small sigh at the other end of the line that imitated a gun being fired.

"_And should you have the wonderful idea of revealing everything to someone, I will let you know _will_ suffer before the end. Farewell._"

The line went hollow, and suddenly, Ritchie seriously considered he should have listened to his mother, and worked at the family's library when he had the chance.

*o*o*o*o*

"Alright, tell me you saw one of our men before I kill myself."

Cody laughed at his partner's antics.

"Come now, Miss Orwell, why would you be so rude as to kill yourself?" said he in a horrendous imitation of the Kalosian accent. "Don't your natural charisma and elegance make you feel at home here, among civilized people?"

"Your civilized people make me want to vomit. They smell so much of money even I have trouble with it."

"I take it you're not fond of our country's jet set, I presume?"

"You presume right. And thank you for dropping your accent."

She let out a sigh, before speaking up again.

"Right… So, any clues?"

"Not for the moment. I tried to follow the Dowell to see if they met someone suspicious, but no luck so far. And you?"

"I would have fared better if it wasn't for that man who accosted me. He kept talking about how he his wife was away for the moment and that we could 'blow some steam' in the engine room. I would have punched him, but I was afraid to ruin the mission, so…"

"No problem there. I understand, trust me"

"I suppose I don't want to know how you can say that?"

"You suppose right."

They stayed silent for some time, until Anna spoke again.

"Hey, Sunders, I was wondering… Do you have any friends outside your contacts and your colleagues?"

"Hm? Why do you ask?"

"Well, you see… We had talks about our early lives, but apart from Starck and your family, I don't remember you talking about anyone else…"

"That's simple: I don't want to."

"Wait, what? You don't want to… I don't know, hang out, date, I don't know, just relax from time to time? You're staying on patrol the whole day or what?"

"No, it's because I don't want people to be hurt because of me."

"Come on, now that is ridiculous. How could being your friend results in someone going to the hospital?"

"Lena did."

Once again, silence reigned for a moment.

"…I should have shut up."

"Not your fault. I must admit she _is_ in a special predicament. As far as I know, Ed never got in any problems because of me, so maybe it's just me being paranoid. But why do you ask?"

"Well… I… I don't really know. It's just that, well… Maybe I'm just worried about you."

"You? The thief extraordinaire, worried about someone? Really?"

The Krookodile let out a hearty chuckle.

"Stop that! This isn't funny!"

"Alright, alright, I stop."

"I mean, I don't even know _why_ I'm worried. You're obviously good enough to handle yourself, but still I am."

"Well, you know, I am worried about you too. I mean, it's not like the people we're after are beginners, so, well, I guess working together tend to do that."

"I had coworkers before, but I never had that kind of feeling for them before. All of them were complete assholes just in it for the money, so that might explain it. You're the first person I met who didn't just told me what to do, but asked me how I felt about things. I'm pretty sure you're the first man I told about my childhood that night, and I don't know, I thought it was just _right_ to let it out, and…"

She abruptly stopped.

"Are you even listening?"

Cody was busy looking around the deck, his gaze avoiding her, and giving the feeling he wasn't listening.

"I am" demented he, however, "I'm just looking for other people on the suspect list, and I didn't dare to interrupt you."

"Oh right. Stupid me. I shouldn't have let myself ramble that much."

"You know, as long as there isn't a terrorist barging in with an assault rifle, we _can_ talk."

"You sure?"

"We didn't saw them, and if one of the Dowell had info, he would tell us, especially Aleister. I mean, he would instantly recognize someone he dealt with, so as long as there isn't something suspicious, we can."

"Right… So, what was I saying?"

"You were confessing your crush on me."

Anna slapped him. Hard.

"Asshole."

Cody only laughed at that.

"It was worth it. You should have seen your face!"

"Not. Funny."

"And still worth it."

Anna tried to retort back, only for her to be interrupted by Aleister coming their way, apparently in a hurry. The two Dark-Types regained their focus instantly, and braced themselves for the news.

"It's worse than we feared" grimly said the Sawsbuck once he was within hearing distance. "There are two of them, the Brothers."

"The Brothers?"

"Never heard of them in the police records."

"They're two Bisharp that love to play around with their blade. One of their deals didn't go their way one time, and it did _not_ end pretty."

"And for the buyers?" asked the Krookodile, "any information?"

"We don't know the man. Apparently from Orre, judging by his accent. He is an Electrike. He is only accompanied by a Skuntank woman and two bodyguards, a Machamp and a Hawlucha."

"So that makes five, possibly six, people to take out" calculated Anna. "Could have been worse."

"Something is wrong" warned Cody. "If there is two dealers instead of one, it's either the head doesn't trust his buyer, or we're walking right into a trap."

"My father is busying him right now, when you're ready, warn him discretely, and you will be able to follow the Manectric to his cabin."

"Sounds like a plan. Where are they?"

A quick look later, the three of them located the Manectric, caught in pleasant conversation with Mortimer.

"Anna, just in case, ready your weapon."

"Already done. Same to you."

"Already done too."

"Great. Here we go!"

And the two Dark-Types resumed their cover of being a couple, slowly walking towards the deck where their new found target was.

*o*o*o*o*

"It has been a real pleasure, Mister Dowell, but I am a bit tired from the jetlag. I wish to retire to my cabin, and I'm sure you would want to as well, dear?"

"A-absolutely, Niels. Absolutely."

The Skuntank next to him was nervous, and it was no surprise, given her apparent husband could get out a gun at any time and fire, should she talk out of line.

The talk with the mayor, however enjoyable it might have been, distracted him from his true purpose for being here: the AML.

_The things I could do with it…_

He already had ideas of how he would use it creatively for his own devices, mainly… recreational, and it pleased him. The Skuntank girl was merely an annoyance, a lever used against this pathetical man that called himself Captain of this ship.

"Alejandro, Satsuma."

His two bodyguards perked up and began walking alongside him towards his cabin. Satsuma, the Machamp, was a warrior monk from the Johtonian yakuza indebted to him, and Alejandro, a Hawlucha wrestler from Niels' personal sports team that killed one of his opponents in a heated match. Once the bribery was out of the way, he proved himself much more efficient at killing things than he ever was for anything else, wrestling included.

And here he was, Niels Riga, Orrian businessman involved with the reconstruction of the Realgam Tower, and who gained his fortune by not being too picky about some details of the contracts he was offered… and being much so for the ones he offered himself. Add to that bribery, and Niels was very at ease in Castelia.

When he was contacted by one of his acquaintances, he wasn't prepared for what followed: the AML-55 was slowly but surely getting popular outside of the Unovan metropolis, and Niels had every intention to profit from this situation, personally and economically.

While money was dancing in his mind, he stopped himself in front of a door on the lower deck, marked with the number 17. He knocked, two short, one long, two short, the code needed to enter.

Sure enough, the door opened instantly on a Bisharp, casually dressed in a sharp contrast with the rest of the passengers, and invited them in wordlessly. Niels and his bodyguards entered the cabin, preceded by the Skuntank.

The cabin was simple by the standards of the ship, no lavish decoration in view. Two beds in each corner of the room opposite to the door, a small table with a suitcase on it, and two chairs at opposite sides of said table. Another Bisharp was sitting on one of the beds, and motioned the two bodyguards and the Suntans to the other with a gesture of his hand.

Niels and the first Bisharp sat down at the table.

"Why is the girl here?"

The Bisharp spoke, his voice devoid of any emption expect slight annoyance.

"She is an incentive for the Captain to not screw up. Nothing too important, I assure you."

"Do you have the money?"

"In there."

Niels tapped his own suitcase, and placed it on the table as well, opening it. Inside were five thousand Poke in small change. The Bisharp took some, moved it, sniffed it, and then nodded approvingly.

"All right Mr Riga. You kept your part of the deal, we will keep ours."

The Bisharp opened his own suitcase, and turned it for the Manectric to see.

Inside was about fifty small bags containing a yellow powder which emitted an eerie glow.

"Five thousand Poke worth of AML. Take good care of it."

Niels was about to take the drug he paid for and thank the two Bisharps, when there was knocking at the door.

Knocking which didn't follow the code

"Cleaning service."

Although the two Bisharps relaxed themselves slightly upon hearing this, they didn't let the interloper enter.

"Come back later. I am busy" said the second Bisharp.

"I am afraid I must insist sir. I have been tasked by the Captain to change the sheets of every bed on the deck, and your room is the last left."

The first Bisharp closed the suitcase, and motioned to his associate to open the door.

"Alright, come in" said the second Bisharp while opening the door. "But be quick about this-"

His sentence would never be finished, because as soon as he opened the lock, the door was slammed into him, and he was sent into the room. The door opened on a Scrafty and a Krookodile, both of them wearing a handgun and directly pointing them at the other people in the room.

"By virtue of the Unovan law, you bunch of arseholes are all under arrest!"

Cody couldn't help but smile wickedly when he saw the look of shock on almost everyone present in the room.

*o*o*o*o*

"Alright. Now that you all kindly handled those weapons of yours, I will be very interested in hearing everything you got to say. Mr Riga, is it? Let's begin with you, shall we?"

Everyone in the room, save form the Suntans, who got out once it was cleared she was innocent, and Cody and Anna, was handcuffed and sitting down quietly.

The Manectric spat at Cody, breaking the small moment of calm.

"Let me go now, and maybe I will not make your life miserable."

"If I had a cent every time someone told me that" only scoffed the cop. "Right, Mr Riga. You do not seem to understand _I_ am the one with a gun, that you are not in your country's jurisdiction, and that should you ever die by accident, we will put the blame on the gangs. Your deal cut short, your partners unhappy, these kinds of things happen all the time."

The Manectric gulped.

"Where were we? Ah yes, the part where you are kind enough to tell me who told you about the AML. I'm listening."

"He will never talk" interrupted one of the Bisharps. "Our boss has ways to ensure he's not uncovered."

"Which would be?" asked casually Anna.

"This for example."

And like that, the Bisharp moved his tongue around his mouth a little, and spit out a small dart he blew at the Manectric.

"Damn it!"

Niels was hit, and instantly paled, and began gasping for breath.

"Concentrated Ariados venom. He will die in three, two, one…"

At the end of the countdown, the Manectric fell over, dead before he touched the ground, while his two bodyguards looked absolutely shocked.

"And before you wonder, cop" said the other Bisharp, "you may have gotten us, but you are not escaping this boat alive."

"And how would that be? You came alone."

Suddenly, another voice rang into the room. Coming straight from the suitcase containing the drug.

"_Ever heard of portative cameras before, Sunders?_"

The moment he heard his new interlocutor, Cody's thoughts became very single-minded.

_Oh shit. Sergei_.

"_Oh, and before you wonder, yes I am going to be onboard in seconds, yes I am going to kill civilians to force you out of your hiding, and yes this suitcase is going to explode just about… now._"

"On the ground!" shouted the Krookodile, while tackling Anna towards the hallway. Soon enough, the blast happened.

It hurt.

*o*o*o*o*

When Anna dared to open an eye again, she was under a ton of Krookodile body. She promptly managed to slip out of this situation, and looked at the cabin they were in seconds earlier.

It wasn't pretty. There was a lot of yellow powder in the room, but it did a poor job hiding the five corpses, all convulsed in expressions of surprise. Splinters coming from the table were encased in them, the Hawlucha even getting one in the eye. Black traces were located at the place where the suitcase once was.

She then turned to Cody, and what she saw chilled her blood.

The Krookodile was on his back, and mostly fine, expect for his mouth. In winch a bag of AML was inserted. Almost totally empty.

"Of all the moments for him to drug himself…"

She shook him, hoping to get a reaction. To her surprise, he got up almost instantly.

"Sergei! We need to stop him!"

He tried to get up, only to be stooped by the Scrafty.

"I hate to bring bad news, Cody, but you inhaled about fifty grams of AML. You can't fight him."

Cody looked at her as if she was joking.

"Please tell me this isn't the case."

"You still got the plastic bag in your mouth."

And sure enough, it was. Cody hastily got it off, absolutely panicked.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! SHIT!"

"Cody, calm down!"

"How? I'm going to die of overdose!"

"If that's so, you should already be lying on the ground!"

Cody was about to retort, but stopped short and thought about it for a second.

"You're right. I _should_ have. The AML is almost instantaneous."

"Maybe it was fake?"

"And letting Sergei guard it? Not a chance."

"Well, let's hope all the powder got dissipated in the air after the explosion."

"Let's."

The two Dark-Types weren't convinced, but nonetheless, after a reminder from Cody, they took off towards the upper bridge to stop Sergei.

*o*o*o*o*

The crowd was trying to take cover behind everything they could find, all the while screaming.

The Houndoom with a flamethrower was a big part in this collective decision. Sergei was in the middle of his men, the band that attacked the mall earlier in the week. And they were readying their weapons. They came by helicopter, and as soon as Sergei fired a warning salvo, all passengers panicked.

"Sir" asked the Talonflame with the iron transplants, a small handgun in one of her talons, "Any orders?"

Sergei smiled wickedly.

"Fire at will."

If the team had any reluctance in following those orders, they didn't show it in the slightest. They opened fire.

The first line of passengers fell.

"Stop."

The Fire-Types stopped their rampage at their leader's orders.

"Now we're just going to wait for Sunders to come here. If he isn't here in two minutes, feel free to shoot again."

*o*o*o*o*

"Hun... do you think we're going to make it?"

Beth was in the embrace of Richie, on the deck along with the passengers. As soon as she was freed of the cabin by the policeman, she had rushed to the Floatzel, and told him everything. Just a moment after that, all the Fire-Types arrived by chopper, which flew over their heads after landing his passengers.

"I don't know, dear. I don't know."

He felt his face wetting up, unwillingly letting tears run over it. The Skuntank noticed it, and smiled sadly at her lover.

"At least… We don't have to hide anymore, don't you agree?"

The Floatzel let out a nervous laugh.

"I guess so. I couldn't care less about what that pompous ass could think now."

He held her tighter.

"I love you, Beth."

"I love you too, my Captain."

His little nickname, the title given to him by a man he loathed turned into a sweet nothing whispered in their own little world.

Richie couldn't help but close his eyes when he saw the Fire-Types aiming their weapons again. Beth did the same, preparing for their last moment.

Gunfire rang.

To their surprise, however, the cries of horror they awaited from the crowd were instead exclamations of awe. They dared to open their eyes again.

They saw a Pokémon meeting the murderers heads on.

A Krookodile.

*o*o*o*o*

Cody let the adrenaline rush do all the thinking for him, slamming the Flareon guarding Sergei into submission, and then quickly held up as an improvised shield against his teammates' fire. He could barely hear Anna's warning shouts, focused as he was on not getting killed.

Beside his living cover, he aimed at Sergei's goons, who were throwing off their aim in hope of not killing their teammate. His aim disturbed by the weight of his struggling hostage, he threw the Flareon at the other Fire-Types, who dodged the body.

Cody took the opportunity, and shot the Talonflame taking flight, right into one of the wings. She began spiraling out of control and landed brutally on the deck. Without warning, the Pyroar was rushing to him, reaching out for a body slam that would leave him vulnerable.

Thankfully, though, a shot coming from Anna's firearm forced the Pyroar to change her course of action, abruptly stopping. Cody turned his head to see the Scrafty reaching out for the melee.

"Get the civilians to safety!" shouted the cop "I'll be fine!"

As he finished his sentence, he was nearly hit by the Simisear he almost killed at the mall, whip threw an elbow at him.

"No way I'm leaving you alone with those butchers! The Dowell are already taking charge of this."

She shot again, into the Simisear's hand, who bit back a curse.

"Do I have to do everything myself?" roared Sergei, who decided to join in the battle.

Without wasting time, he promptly fired a salvo with his handgun, forcing the two other Dark-Types to cover behind a nearby bench, before reaching for his flamethrower and using it. Anna quickly pushed Cody out of harm's way, and the Houndoom groaned.

"Take some of the gawking idiots over there hostage" shouted he at the Flareon, who just got himself back up, "Hurry!"

As he motioned to do so, he was stopped dead in his track by a well-placed shot at the back leg, courtesy of Cody.

"Quit it already, Sergei, I will shoot everyone trying to harm the civilians."

"Aren't you a persistent one…Alright, Sunders, if you want so badly to end it, I will be glad to grant that wish!"

He fired again, trying to force him out of cover to burn him. Anna quietly slipped away from Cody, muttering 'Distract them!" at her partner. Cody agreed, and began taunting the Houndoom.

"I already prepared a cell for you, Sergei. You will love it, just damp and moist enough to drive a Fire-Type like you insane!"

"Keep talking, so I can know where you are" drily remarked the Houndoom.

Sergei fired again, only for Cody to dodge once more.

"Is that all the legendary mercenary is capable of? You will have to get better at aiming that toy of yours!"

"Shut it!"

Sergei was beginning to lose his calm, remembering jowl he could have ended the cop's life hadn't he been so foolish. He berated himself after narrowly dodging a bullet from Cody.

"Just so you know, you only managed to get Anna because we were out for _shopping_ that day! Two cops unarmed and unprepared beat your commando into submission, and it's just getting better!"

"Sir" said the Pyroar, the only member of Sergei's squad alongside himself to still be able to fight, "let me take him by the flank, his Scrafty friend isn't here to protect him this time."

"Wait a moment… the Scrafty isn't here?"

Sergei suddenly realized what it meant for him.

"Get to cov-"

He was interrupted by a bang, and a gurgling sound, followed by the sound of a Pyroar body falling lifelessly on the ground. A Scrafty was looking at it coldly.

"Game over, bastard."

The Scrafty was aiming at him point blank, and Sergei knew by the sound he heard that Cody was actually doing the same behind him.

"We got a _lot _of questions, Sergei, and if I don't like your answers, you will go take a dip in the sea."

"Calm down Anna, we need those guys alive if we want to get some information."

"This monster butchered everyone at Equality that night, and I will not let him get off with this."

"He will face retribution, but right now we need him."

"Butchered is a big word" interrupted the Houndoom. "I just set fire to a building, I never actually pulled the trigger on any of your friends, you know."

Only the barrel of a gun answered him.

"Don't play smartass with me, Sergei."

Sergei only smirked. And grabbed Anna's arm, now within reach.

"The fu-"

She pulled the trigger, but a second too late. Sergei already was under her, took her by the waist, and as if she weighted nothing, held her in the air before throwing her at Cody. The two Dark-Types fell to the ground heavily.

Sergei patted himself, getting off some dust, before reaching for his weapons he dropped earlier. Cody and Anna, meanwhile, got up, and ran for cover again.

"Don't even think of telling me I screwed up" said the thief.

"Bit too busy for that right now!" shouted the cop, while looking at Sergei.

Sergei aimed form the cover they were hidden behind, only for him to lower his weapon. Cody and Anna were both surprised by this.

"You're good, Sunders. You're good. But you got one glaring weakness."

"Typical villain mistake" was the Krookodile's answer, "they can't stop gloating."

"Your weakness are your friends, Sunders. Do you want to know why?"

"Shut up, and shoot already! So, I can get to you, shackle you, and put you into a sinkhole in Castelia's jail and move on with your shit!"

"Actually, I think I will do a little demonstration. You will understand better."

Reaching out for his backpack, he searched for something in it with one hand, took some time, and found it.

"Get a look at this."

Cody peeked across his cover cautiously, trying to see what the fuck the Houndoom was talking about.

Slowly, Sergei got out a round object, purple. After further examination, Cody determined there was a beige circle in the middle of it.

When he saw the eyes, Cody's blood froze. Sergei was showing him a head. An Ambipom's severed head.

An Ambipom whose dinner Cody was very fond of.

"You did a _very_ bad job at protecting your poor friend, Sunders. Who knows, maybe if you had left him out of this I wouldn't have had to ki-"

Sergei was interrupted by a deafening scream. He put his hands over his ears, lessening the pain only a little bit, and looked at the source of the sound.

It was Cody.

And when he saw Cody's eyes glowing a sickly red glow, and his body emitting the same glow around him as well, he understood at once what happened, and what was going to happen to him.

"Abandon mission!" shrieked he in his talkie-talkie, hanging just below his left shoulder, "Abandon mission! Awakening detected! I repeat, Awakening detected!"

"_Understood_" came the immediate answer "_The chopper will be ready to grab you in a few seconds._"

Sergei didn't bother replying, as he managed to get up his men, while Cody and Anna were still under the shock.

After a few moments, Anna snapped out of her trance, shook her head, and began rushing for Sergei, before stopping dead upon seeing Cody.

'Cody? Why are you… glowing… red?"

Upon hearing this, Cody snapped out of his shock as well, but didn't answer. Instead, he leapt forwards at Sergei with astonishing speed, claws out, flashing shades of purple. Cody didn't scream Sergei's name. He didn't even swore vengeance. He was so lost in his rage the only two words he could scream at his opponent were two words that made Sergei visibly pale.

"**_Dragon Claw!_**"


	7. Chapter 7 : On board (Part 2)

**Alright guys. I am very excited about this chapter. This is a big one, both in size and in importance, so I was kind of nervous when writing it. Thankfully, though, it got replaced with excitation quickly. I really hope you guys will like it, as I'm introducing a MAJOR plot point in this chapter that is basically the trigger to a lot of events in my series (as the ones who read my first story know).**

**Again, I really hope you like it, and R&amp;R !**

*o*o*o*o*

Sergei spat blood, as he recoiled from the staggering Dragon-Type attack. He knew by the striking pain under his right eye that the Krookodile almost made him one-eyed.

This was bad.

_If he already is able to launch Moves out of sheer anger, it's only a matter of time before he can throw them at will._

Sergei dodged another incoming Dragon Claw, and tried to get a free shot at his opponent. The Krookodile dodged at the last moment, and grabbed him.

_Crap._

Cody threw the Houndoom as if he weighted nothing, and prepared a Bulldoze, which he promptly used on the downed mercenary.

It hit.

The wood planks on the deck broke all around Sergei, and flied in every direction. Sergei, however, was more concerned by how the attack not only hurt hard, but how he got back up way too slow to his liking.

_Of course. Bulldoze slows down its victims._

Sergei cursed himself for not paying more attention on those treaties about Moves his master told him to read. He had no time for self-loathing, however, as Cody charged once again, hell-bent on his desire to crush the Houndoom. Sergei readied himself, preparing to block the expected hit, then counter with a Foul Play, forfeiting his weapons altogether.

He didn't bank on Cody having ranged attacks as well, a fact he dearly regretted when he took the hit from an Earth Power.

Once again, the Houndoom fell to his knees. Breathing heavily, he noticed his opponent recuperating from the attack as well.

_He isn't used to it yet, he is going to exhaust himself too quickly. I f I can just wait for an opening…_

Sergei barely thought this before Cody once again charged in a full-frontal assault. He stopped using moves, and instead relied on standard close-quarters techniques, although compared to what Sergei saw at the mall, the cop's attacks were now ruthless and brutal. It dawned on the Houndoom that the Krookodile was going for the kill.

Escaping a sweeping claw, Sergei managed to execute a roundhouse kick, which resulted in Cody eating the ground. Not wasting his advantage, Sergei unleashed a flamethrower on his opponent, not for harming him directly, but for burning him, in the hopes it would lower his offense level. To his shock, Cody stood up as if the torrent of flames was nothing more than a little annoyance, and resumed his advance on Sergei.

Thinking quickly, Sergei did a quick sidestep towards the place he left his handgun, in the hopes of getting it back now that it was obvious only using Moves on the Krookodile would not grant him victory. Those hopes were instantly crushed when the Krookodile quickly intercepted him on the way, another Dragon Claw at the ready.

This time Sergei dodged it in advance, as the attack was rather predictable, and replied with a Fire Punch. Given the Type of his opponent, the attack did as much damage as expected, not very much. Yet, it did its purpose, which was of staggering the Krookodile in order to bypass his defense. The Ground-Type was knocked in the jaw, and stepped back slightly, allowing Sergei to rush towards his handgun still on the floor and grab it in one fluid motion.

"Alright, playtime is over."

With that said, Sergei aimed for Cody's head and fired. The Krookodile tried to avoid the shot, but only succeeded in deviating it to his arm, where it entered in a flash of red.

Sergei had to cover his ears as the following scream was even more bestial than the one before.

_It sounds like a feral beast shrieking in pain_, thought Sergei. _Is he still even aware of his situation?_

The Houndoom didn't spare another thought on it, however, as Cody shriek progressively died down, until all he could hear was a whimper coming from him. Until suddenly the bullet popped out of Cody's arm.

Under Sergei's eyes, the wounded flesh then began to heal, and in a few seconds, it was as if the bullet never was there, apart from the heavy sweat forming on the Krookodile's head.

"_That… hurt…"_

Cody talked in a raspy and heavy voice, as if distorted from his usual one. And Sergei suppressed a shiver upon hearing the hate and scorn in it.

"_I… will make you… hurt…too…"_

And on those words, the Krookodile began his assault with renewed vigor, much to the dismay of a very dumbfounded Sergei. Once again, he barely dodged a Dragon Claw, but was surprised by the follow-up of a straight kick in the belly, which made him stagger and lose his breath upon impact. Cody chained it with a head-butt, and then an arm-twist, before grabbing Sergei, and using Bulldoze once again.

The planks flied in every direction another time, and Sergei wondered between curses and shouts of pain if Cody was going to renovate the whole ship in this manner. He would have laughed if it wasn't for the angry Krookodile coming straight to him.

Managing to get back on his feet, despite being even slower than last time, Sergei quickly ran through all his options in his head, before concluding he was less and less likely to win this fight each passing second. If the evacuation didn't arrive soon, he might even be captured, which would be a first in his career.

That's when he witnessed he was actually right beside a Floatzel and a Skuntank, hiding together under a bar, which probably served drinks to passengers during the cruise. Sergei smiled darkly as his luck just took a turn for the better.

*o*o*o*o*

While the battle raged on, Anna was busy trying to evacuate the passengers still left on the upper bridge down their cabin, seeing the two fighters weren't even paying attention to them. She as she was motioning a couple down the stairs, she saw the mayor running up to her.

"I'm going to take care of them now Miss Orwell. Cody needs your help more than they as of now."

"Mr Dowell, you can't expect me to come back into the melee. Have you even seen Cody? He looks like he reverted all the way back to being a feral! He likely doesn't even know friend from foe anymore."

"While I do agree, you would help more back there trying to stop this madman than doing an evacuation me and Aleister can take off."

"Unless Cody calms down, I am not going near him. He suddenly started to throw Moves at Sergei like he was born that way, shrieking like a dement and trying to gut him; I am not going to hold up twenty seconds if he starts charging towards me!"

That's when she heard the second scream from Cody, which was quite evidently one of pain.

"See what I mean?" couldn't help but ask Anna over the screaming.

Then, despite the distance, she noticed the red droplets falling down his arm, as well as Sergei's firearm pointed at the cop. Anna instantly made the connection, and feared that Cody would be unable to carry on fighting.

Until she saw him taking out the bullet almost by magic, healing himself in the process, and heard him talk for the first time since the beginning of the battle.

"_That…hurt…_"

Anna was very uncomfortable with Cody's distorted voice, only detecting and hate and wrath in it, emotions she wasn't used to hear in the cop's voice at all.

"_I… will make you hurt… too…_"

And that's when Cody began his assault once again. At first she thought he would resume his strategy of hitting hard and fast without caring about subtlety, until she saw him perform the decoy dragon Claw trick, followed by the kick in the belly.

_Wait… I recognize that pattern…_

Thinking about it hard, she remembered it actually was one of Cody's favorite combinations, straight and to the point, but very surprising the first time you pulled it off on an unsuspecting opponent.

_If he is beginning to use his tricks and patterns instead of charging wildly like a feral beast… could it be he is slowly getting a hold of himself?_

She didn't have the time to wonder, however, when, after taking a Bulldoze again, Sergei unexpectedly pointed his gun under a bar desk, which made Cody stop immediately.

_Damn it. I didn't check over there._

Sergei slowly got himself up, still pointing at his hostages, while talking to Cody.

"Alright Sunders. One move, ONE, and I bust one of them a new hole. You let me wait for my transport, take it, and escape so I can let you happily explain to your superiors why there is suddenly so many dead people on tis ship. Deal?"

Anna had heard enough. She took out her gun, and began walking silently towards Sergei while he still had his back turned. She was waiting for an opportunity to strike just at the right to not let Sergei any chance to escape. Once she was close enough, began taking aim-

"That counts for you _too_, Orwell. Put your weapon down."

Biting back a curse, Anna did so, as the Fire-Type turned around to have a better view of the both of them Meanwhile, Anna could see Cody was absolutely not moving, it even looked like he wasn't breathing.

"What's the matter, Sunders? Purugly got your tongue?" taunted the Houndoom, still pointing his weapon at the two hostages, a Floatzel and a Skuntank, now that she could see them up close.

_Wait… Isn't that Skuntank the girl we saved from the others back down?_

Indeed, she was, as scared as she was back then, but still holding better than her misfortune companion, the Floatzel, who most likely had wetted his pants, judging by the strength of his shaking.

Cody's unnerving silence carried on, the Krookodile only focusing his eyes on Sergei in a glare that would have put most psychos to shame.

"If I don't have an answer soon, I will have to make example, you know?"

"You do that, you're as good as dead, Sergei."

"I wasn't talking to you, bitch."

Anna wanted even more, if possible, to grab the Houndoom and bash his head on something hard, repeatedly. She knew, however, that there was little chance of it happening as long as Sergei had a hold on the hostages.

"So? Your answer Sunders?"

"_Release the hostages first._"

To both Anna and Sergei, that came as a surprise. They didn't expect Cody to talk this eloquently after the last three minutes when he kept acting like a savage beast. Even though his voice was still somehow distorted, the edge present in it ever since the start of the fight was all but gone.

Trying to hide his nervousness, Sergei let out a laugh, intending to pass as a villainous one.

"Oh, please, do you really think I will fall for it? The moment they're not I danger anymore, I'm toast. I want your answer _now_."

"_Those two are the only barrier shielding you from me. I will let that sink in._"

And sure enough, Sergei knew his situation was _not_ stable at all. Unless he was safe in the helicopter bringing him back, he was basically at the mercy of the cop. And Cody knew that too.

"_The hostages first._"

"And what do you have to win with letting go my only failsafe?"

"_If you do, I promise I won't kill you. If you don't… I will make it last._"

Somehow, despite his experience as a professional killer, Sergei had yet again to suppress a shiver running down his spine. He had no doubts about the fact Cody would stay true to his word. Still, the moment he released his hostages, he could as well pull out a white flag.

That's when they all heard the sound of a rotor.

Surprising everyone, a helicopter suddenly flew over the boat, and engaged into a stationary flight. Sergei, though taken aback at first, smiled openly when he saw the symbol painted on the helicopter's body, two Dragons circling around each other.

"Well, I would love to stay around, Sunders, but I got places to be."

"Don't you dare and try to board that chopper…"

"Given I have the lives of two people in my paw, Orwell, I believe you can't order me around. Unless you absolutely don't care about them?"

To put an emphasis over his words, Sergei placed the barrel of his gun on the Skuntank's head, who whimpered. The Floatzel tried to make a move forward, but a glare from the Houndoom calmed him down. While this happened, a rope ladder fell down the chopper, near Sergei, obviously waiting for him to climb it.

Sergei stopped his intimidation act, and while still aiming for the Skuntank and the Floatzel, he grabbed the ladder with his free paw.

"Get moving!"

The chopper rose a little, beginning his escape with the mercenary, who was still aiming for the two defenseless Pokémon.

"Damnit, not this time too…" swore Anna.

Cody for his part stayed silent, while the Floatzel quickly went to embrace his lover protectively.

"Better luck next time, Sunders!" couldn't help boasting Sergei, who held a bemused grin on his face while witnessing his nemesis' defeat once again.

However, as the chopper sped up, as he began to fly towards the city for the criminal to hide in, as Sergei took his weapon back since he wasn't in danger anymore, Cody did a very unexpected thing.

He ran. He ran towards the end of the ship, towards the fleeting chopper, like a crimson blur, and slammed his claws at the end of the deck, just as the chopper flew by.

And then, with a feral growl, Cody screamed the name of his next attack towards the sky. And used Precipice Blades.

*o*o*o*o*

"Oh, you got to be fucking kidding me."

*o*o*o*o*

Anna watched with her mouth agape as her friend unleashed a cataclysm of downright epic proportions on the helicopter, as, somehow, the Castelian cop summoned pillars of stone from below the bay's waters, which aimed for the flying engine as if possessed by a will of their own. Granted, the first two missed their target as the pilot miraculously dodged them in a daring maneuver involving dangerous dive towards the bay followed by an ascent as brutal, but the third and last one destroyed the rear completely.

That's when the chopper began spiraling downwards in a nauseating fashion, and crashed some yards away, over a pillar supporting the Skyarrow Bridge. And caught fire.

The Scrafty thief blinked. It all went so fast, she didn't think she would believe herself when she will tell that story. However, once she got back to her senses, she quickly looked towards the end of the ship, where she saw Cody. Laying on the ground, and not moving.

"Cody!"

She quickly ran past the two flabbergasted ex-hostages, and towards the Krookodile laying down. Once at his level, she shook him up, roughly. But he didn't woke up.

"Don't you dare die on me…" whispered the thief, "don't you even dare…"

Cody's eyes, however, stayed shut.

*o*o*o*o*

When Cody opened his eyes again, he knew instantly he wasn't in Castelia anymore.

In fact, if he was to judge by the fact he was all alone some kind of black void where he could still see himself perfectly, he knew he wasn't in any place he knew, either.

The fact he was once again to think clearly without wanting to drive a claw down Sergei's throat was a pretty good clue as well.

_So… Where am I?_

He looked around him, only for him to shout a little when he saw he was standing, not an injury visible on his body, but naked.

_Weird…_, thought he after regaining a composure. _Last thing I remember was this bastard showing me Ed's head. After that…_

After that came nothing, concluded he. He couldn't remember what happened at all, despite knowing something _did_ happen.

_Well, that's frustrating._

He kept looking around for something, however, both out of boredom and because something told him it was important. But after five minutes without nothing happening, Cody decided to go to the next level, and called for someone.

"Hello? Is someone here?"

_Huh?-Who did that?-Another one?-Who's there?-A new addition?-Who is he?-Why is he here?-What?-What's going on?-When did he come in?-Who is he?-He shouldn't be here!-Again?-What's happening?-How did he know we were here?-Why shouldn't he be here?-Just kick him out already!-I don't like this…-Out, I say!-Not again…-Shouldn't we call in-_

Cody put his claws on his ears, hoping it would somehow lessen the intensity of the voices around him, only to find they were also in his head. Too much was being said at the same time, too many information, he couldn't take it all at once, he was going to-

_ENOUGH!_

In an instant, the voices stopped. Cody slowly took his paws off his ears, still wary of the voices, but able to think clearly once again.

_I will talk to him._

Cody could hear approbations coming from every direction at once, but once again could see no one in sight when he turned on himself.

"Over here, Krookodile."

Cody turned back to his initial position, only to see a Marowak standing in a position where there was nothing mere seconds ago. The Marowak, apparently female given her voice, was using a baton to stand up, one of a very peculiar design, as it was made of a long and thick bone, painted in the deepest red Cody ever saw. There were some markings on it, though Cody couldn't recognize any one of them, or their meanings. The Marowak also wore a brown cloak, apparently used by the weather to the point where it was almost a rag, though where did it become like this in this void, Cody had no idea.

The Marowak was eyeing him, her gaze never leaving him as he tried to understand, when she suddenly said something unexpected.

"What are you doing here? You are alive!"

"Erm… I am, yes. What? Is this a problem?"

"How in the ancestors' names are you here in the Distortion World while still being alive?"

"Wait, wait, wait… the Distortion World? I am in the afterlife?"

"Obviously not, dimwit: you are alive. What I can't fathom is how you are still that way. And why didn't we see you when you first appeared here for that matter! Or why only some of the souls did hear you!"

"To be quite honest… I don't know, neither. In fact, apart from that black void around us, I don't see anything else, so, really, I can't know about… whatever is going on."

"The Distortion World isn't a black void, although there is a lot of empty space, granted. Why do you see it as th-"

The Marowak stopped herself, suddenly thinking about something. Cody could see her eyes turn to perplexity, to understanding, to sadness, all of it very quickly. Soon enough, the Marowak spoke again.

"I believe I know about the predicament you are in at the moment. You exhausted almost all your Aura, don't you?"

"Aura? Wait, is this thing real?"

"Aura, real?"

The Marowak burst into laughter.

"Hahahahahaha! Sweet Arceus, Aura, not real! Hahahahahahahaha! Legends I knew… Haha… I knew today's Pokémon were somehow atheists, but… Hahahahahaha!"

Cody couldn't help but feel slightly unnerved by how the Marowak laughed at his lack of knowledge, as if she detained some kind of secret he couldn't grasp.

"Dear" said she after stopping her laughing fit, "of course Aura is real. This the life force of every Pokémon! And right now, yours is almost as low as the one from a Dunsparce. Which, given your species is quite abnormal."

"But… What happens when you're low on Aura?"

"That's very simple: you die."

Cody gulped nervously, understanding he actually was on the doorstep of death, should the Marowak was to be believed.

"And, given that you don't have any more Aura, your soul, your very being, cease to be as well. In short, only your cold, dead body remain. When you die under normal circumstances, the soul carries on to the afterlife, but without Aura, it's the end of the line."

"How do you know all of this?"

"Well, when you've been dead since centuries ago, you tend to learn how the whole system works."

"Centuries?!"

"Yes, but it's not that long, really! Time is distorted too here, so when I was bored I went to sleep in a place with accelerated time, and hop! Five decades in more!"

"But what does it have to do with me?"

"Dear, there is only one possible reason you could have ended here with this few Aura: you used almost all of it in a massive outburst, and your body shut down itself in order to preserve your soul."

"But how could my body have known before it was too late?"

"Well, that's simple too. Because your body wasn't meant to host the kind of Aura, but another one altogether. Legendary-like Aura."

Cody blinked.

"Alright, I'm completely lost, here.

"Seriously, do your teachers even do their job, nowadays? The Half-Bloods? You know what they are?"

To his surprise, that name was oddly familiar with Cody.

"Wait, that name rings a bell."

"I hope so! It's just, let's say, one of the most important part of the whole mythology. I mean, children of Legends living adventures even better than most fantasy books sure was attractive to poets back in the day."

That's when Cody remembered his mother once told him about this tale. And all at once, he understood there was a problem with this.

"Sorry, but I know both of my parents. As in, I would have noticed if one of them suddenmy transformed into a mythological being."

"I admit you're a rare case. You do not have any traces of Legendary Aura on you. Even if your powers were inherited from twenty generations ago, you would still have some quantity. But you do not."

The Marowak pondered for a moment.

"Is one of your parents kind of… _really_ interested in mysticism?"

"My mother… Oh Arceus, please tell me I am not the fruit of some kind of demonic ritual that actually worked, that would ruin my day even more."

"No need to worry, dear. If that were Giratina's essence resonating through you, I wouldn't be able to speak to you."

"Why?"

"Because, as of now, you can only speak to souls linked to the same Legend as you are. And yes, before you ask, when you die, you must place yourself under the protection of a Legend. Serves as some kind of selection to know who goes where. Anyways, you're probably asking yourself which Legend you have the honor to be a Half-Blood of?"

"If that could be a very minor one that would be fine by me. I don't want to get involved in any mythical adventure, my life is complicated as it is."

Once again the Marowk laughed, though this time she managed to keep it short rather than bursting into a complete fit.

"Sorry to disappoint you dear, but you are a Half-Blood of Groudon! You will have to come back for the 'minor' part, I'm afraid."

Cody stayed silent for a moment, the impact of this new information hitting him, before replying.

"That's it. It's a dream. I'm going to wake up on that damn ship, and hopefully everyone will be alright."

"This is not a dream, dear. Even though I am grinning right now, you really are the son of Groudon. Well, by adoption, if you count the ritual your mother went through while pregnant as an adoption."

"Juts to clarify… This actually means everything I learned in theology classes was right?"

"Depends on the quality of your teachers, but probably."

"I am not the only one like this out there?"

"Nope."

"Groudon isn't aware I exist, I suppose?"

"You suppose right."

"I will run into it one day?"

"Probably. And it's a he."

"So… they have genders?"

"I was shocked at first, too."

"And… my life is about to get incredibly more complicated."

"Exactly. You're a smart one! Last one I tried the pep talk to someone, he spent ten years in coma trying to figure it all out, but you summed it up nicely!"

"…I am not going to ask how much time it will take for me to wake up. Nor if you are a Half-Blood, too, because it's kind of obvious now."

Don't worry too much about it. Given your increasing level of Aura, I should say in two minutes, or three. Give or take."

"Is that good?"

"Probably. Most Half-Bloods awaken their powers through a trauma, physical or emotional, but about one out of one million end up there. You're an exception, let's say."

"Of course. Even when doing something this insane, I _still_ manage to be the oddball."

"Don't be too hard on yourself. Think about it that way: you're very lucky to be part of the happy few!"

"…You are insane."

"Maybe I am!" replied cheerfully the Marowak. "Though your Aura level is insane too. You got almost as much as I had when I was at my top, and you're probably only at the beginning of your life."

"How much did you had?"

"Enough to beat Kyogre. Though I had to sleep for a whole week after that."

"Tell me you're joking… Please, tell me you're joking."

"Just try to search for 'Nazca of the Molten Bone', that was the name I was given by the Altaria that sang my battle."

"So your name is Nazca, then?"

"Yup, that's right. I know, it's weird, but hey, I lived before the humans created the Pokeball, so…"

After that, the two stayed in an awkwards silence, Cody still processing the flow of information, and Nazca trying to guess precisely when would the Krookodile would depart from the Distortion World. After a while, Nazca seemed to notice something, and talked.

"Your Aura is completely resplenished, you will come back to the living in a short while."

"About that… What are the changes I will be going through?"

"Oh yes I forgot about that! You will be fatser, stronger, bulkier. From what I heard, Pokémon don't use Moves anymore, but you will be able to do so, and efficiently. Your specie's Moves will come to you naturally, some more than others. There is a very high chance you can use Precipice Blades, too."

"Precipice Blades?"

"Groudon's signature attack. You will basically create a tectonic rift where you want, and creat pillars of stone. Long, sharp pillars you can point to your enemies. In fact you probably already used it, given you were completely low on Aura."

"I will be able to create a _complete tectonic rift_?"

"Earthquake already does that, it's boring. No, you will create a complete tectonic rift and concentrate it on a single point. That's much better."

"…Is that all?"

"No. If you're lucky, and can use all of this without fainting, you will even be able to create special attacks only you can use by merging your moves, your Aura, and your environment. See my baton? Back in the days, I could use this Dragonite bone to create an eruption just by striking the earth with it. Pretty neat, huh?"

"I will agree, that's pretty neat" couldn't help but reply a dumbfounded Cody, appreciating the appeal of the attack despite being completely at loss on everything else.

"I'm sure you will figure it out soon enough Cody, don't worry."

"How do you even know my name?"

"I can read your Aura. That means your soul. So now, get off! Your friends are calling you! And some nasty colleagues of yours too, apparently. And kill that asshole of a Houndoom with style, OK?"

Cody didn't even answer, as he was suddenly feeling himself being lifted up gently, and slowly he began to see more and more light around him, despite Nazca not seeing any, and soon disappeared completely from the Distortion World.

"I have this feeling we will see each other again…" said pensively Nazca.

*o*o*o*o*

Cody's eyes opened while he gasped for breath, and tried get himself up. He regretted it deeply when pain flared through his left arm, and he tried to ease it by futilely holding it with his other paw. Repressing back a curse through closed teeth, his eyes adjusted to the ambient light progressively, slowly allowing him to see his surroundings.

As he processed the ruinous state of the Grand Unova, he slowly understood that a very brutal fight happened here. And judging by his body, who hurt like no tomorrow, he also processed he had been part of it.

When he turned around, he expected to see Anna, or one of the Dowells. He instead saw the face of a Sylveon looking at him from above, a clearly pissed look in his eyes.

Cody groaned.

"Oh great. Leon. You just have a knack for showing up to ruin my day at the worst moment possible."

"Very funny, Sunders" snorted the Sylveon. "Forgive me, but after a terrorist attack on a cruise boat docked in Castelia, the police _could_ have a small chance to intervene. I was surprised to see you lying on the ground in a tuxedo, however."

The Sylveon embraced in a gesture the ruined deck of the boat.

"In the middle of the bodies of five of those terrorists and with a flaming chopper in the distance. You sure don't do things half bad when you're high on drugs, huh?

Cody's blood instantly froze.

"Sweet Mew… AML-55, even? My, my, Cody, you hid us your wild and rebel side, didn't you?"

"Shut up. The ingestion was forced."

"By whom? The president?"

"By the fact the terrorist I came here on cover to track down placed a frigging _bomb_ on the wallet with the drug in, and that I was _bound_ to take some in the aftermath."

"Pretty convincing story. Too sad I don't buy it. And that Darius won't, for that matter."

"You're believing me, but won't take my defense, isn't that right?"

"Exactly."

"Wait!"

The two policemen turned their heads towards the new voice, who belonged to the Skuntank girl Cody rescued earlier.

"I was there just before the bomb exploded. He was arresting the dealers, putting on the manacles and all! But then, there was the explosion, and I ran up there, and then the… the butchers arrived, and…"

"Stop" interrupted the Sylveon. "Thank you for your testimony. I believe I got myself carried away in my assumptions."

The Skuntank nodded shyly, and began walking away when Leon shooed her off.

"You're letting me off the hook like that?"

"This girl was Beth Macenzie. Her father is wealthy businessman who I have several… 'deals' with. I would rather not lose them for the account I told his daughter to fuck off."

"Smart move."

"Doesn't stop you from filling Darius on everything you did down there. Including the beheaded Ambipom and the chopper, of course."

"Of course" grumbled Cody.

The two cops stayed silent for a moment, until Cody, despite the flaring pain, got up suddenly.

"Did someone check there was any survivors in the chopper?"

"Why would we have done that? The passengers are a priority, Sunders."

"Not when the man responsible for this slaughter was _inside_ the damn thing!"

"Oh, crud."

Without waiting for an answer from his colleagues, Cody sprinted to the lifeboats, grabbing a weapon from one of his colleagues on the way.

"Hey!"

"Requisition from a Captain, move aside!"

Cody arrived soon enough to the lifeboats, jumped into one, and promptly managed to bring it down by shooting the ropes holding it, causing another commotion into the crowd.

"Arceus damn it, Sunders! What are you even doing?" roared the Sylveon, furious after his colleague's sudden course of action.

Cody didn't even bother answering him as the lifeboat fell quickly towards the waters, and landed with a splash. The policeman immediately started the engine, thanking silently the designer for using standard engines which he did know about, and pointed the lifeboat towards Skyarrow Bridge

*o*o*o*o*

"Just to be clear, Greyfield. Sunders wakes up from some kind of coma due to physical exhaustion and drug injection. The first thing he does after that is taking a weapon from a colleague, rush down to a lifeboat, and _flee_?"

To say Darius was angry would be a sweet euphemism. The Heracross was positively livid, and Leon had to force himself not to whimper under the hateful of his boss.

"Well, he did went towards the crashed chopper in a lifeboat. If he really wanted to flee, he would have went towards the city, rather than under a bridge where he would have almost no means to escape."

"Are you taking his defense, Greyfield?"

"I'm just being logical, sir. I hate Sunders as much as you do, but he is still right to say the killer was in that chopper minutes ago, if he fled. We searched for the whole boat, and didn't find him, so Sunders' story is legitimate."

"Ermm… Excuse me?"

The two high-graded turned to see a Ledian wearing the uniform speaking to them, recognizing him as one of Cody's colleagues, Rob.

"We just got the footage from the ship's cameras, and… Well, I think you should see it."

Without a word or a thanks, Darius nagged the small computer he was holding, and watched it intently, Leon looking by the Heracross's shoulder.

The screen showed a black and white footage, with Cody and a Houndoom they didn't know about, most likely the killer, were in the middle of it. They could also recognize the features of a Scrafty Darius knew all too much about.

"So he is making buddy-buddy with the suspects now…" groaned he.

He resumed his watching just as he saw the Houndoom taking out an Ambipom's head, obviously without the body following suit. The two cops gulped at this, not liking the sight in the slightest despite their moral code.

And then they saw the beginning of the fight. Or lack thereof.

With utter bewilderment, they watched Cody absolutely trashing the Houndoom, moving faster than they ever saw him on the field, and taking his opponent with his bare claws and winning. Even as he took a bullet, he got it out as if it was nothing more than a sting, resumed his beating. The Sylveon and the Heracross were as terrified of the Krookodile on the screen as the Houndoom fighting him.

The camera changed as they saw the Houndoom barreling through a bar, only to smile darkly a short while after as he saw two civilians he was going to use.

The footage changed once again, as they saw the Houndoom and his two hostages between Anna and Cody, the small exchange between them they alas couldn't hear, and the fortunate arrival of the chopper for the Houndoom.

When the footage once again switched to another camera, they saw the chopper taking off, only for Cody to appear on its trail, and slam his claws on the deck.

That's when they saw the pillars.

Once it was all done, the two policemen looke at each other in bewilderment, and a small hint of sheer terror hidden behind it.

"Sweet mother of Arceus… What happened?"

Darius' comment resumed the thoughts of everyone around him.

*o*o*o*o*

"Of course. He escaped."

Cody restrained himself to not launch another roar, as Sergei escaped his claws for the second time. As soon as he broke through the crashed chopper cockpit, he could clearly see its only inhabitant left was the pilot, an Arcanine whom the head had been pierced by glass upon the impact.

Sergei, however, was nowhere to be found.

Cody immediately took his phone out, and called the only Pokémon involved in this whole mess whom he knew wasn't on the boat. After a small moment, said Pokémon answered.

"_You _got_ to tell me what happened._"

"I will the moment I can go and see you. I will have to go to the debrief, cook up a lie, and hope Darius and Leon won't interfere too much. I'm calling you when I'm free."

"_Alright._"

"And Anna? There was a symbol on the side of the chopper. I'm sure one of the first things you did was to look it up. What gives?"

"_It gives something big, Cody. Something very big. It's the logo of a big consortium you probably know about._"

"Which one?"

"_Dietrich Industries._"


	8. Chapter 8 : Complications

**Hello everyone! Darren Xirias here! **

**So, you may be wondering why and how have I updated this quickly after the last chapter, especially given my usual delay of a month between each chapter. Well, there are several reasons for this. **

**Firstly, I'm not going to be in France for the whole two weeks of Christmas Break, which means that updating will be quite difficult. Seriously, don't even try to update on a smartphone. Ever. **

**Secondly, I also wanted to try and speed up my update schedule, because the story is advancing too slowly for my taste, not in terms of the chapters' content, in which I try to make the story advance as much as possible, but rather in terms of how often a chapter comes up. While it allows me to sometimes go back on some plot elements, in the end, taking too much time between chapters isn't good, as I lose focus and inspiration that way.**

**Thirdly, I have been getting two reviews since the last chapter. That's double the amount of reviews I ever had between two chapters! And when I saw them, my inspiration came back and I immediately started writing this chapter. Before I even noticed, I already had written down half of it! (This isn't me trying to blackmail you into leaving reviews. While they are appreciated greatly, in no way I am forcing you to review me in exchange of faster updates. Even though that helps, I admit.)**

**That's all, people! Now, I will shut up, and onwards with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon nor Nintendo or Game Freak. If I did, Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon would be out in Europa ALREADY.**

**Edit : Wow… My bad… I saw the mess made of my chapter only yesterday, and I immediately went up to correct it. Sorry for the inconvenience.**

*o*o*o*o*

_Castelia City_

_Unknown_

"My patience is wearing _thin_, Sergei."

The Houndoom kept silent, his head bowed in obedience to his master.

"I told you Sunders would be a nuisance. I told you he was a Half-Blood. I told you to better prepare yourself for your next encounter. And most importantly, I told you to wait for him to find us and come into our trap. And yet… and yet… You still rush into him head first, taunt him, try to kill him, anger him, and drug him, all because of your pathetical little ego."

His master turned around on his chair, facing his employee directly. Sergei suppressed back a yelp, as it was the first time his master confronted him so openly, and was this angry.

"I _hope_ you are happy with yourself, you low-born, idiot, dim-witted, stupid, pathetical excuse of a Houndoom! Thanks to you, the cop performed an Awakening! And to top it all, he is affiliated with Groudon! Groudon!"

Rising from his chair, his master walked slowly towards him, and grabbed him by the throat. Sergei felt no pressure at all, as his master didn't even touch him, but he knew one movement of his part, and his master could kill him by strangling him. He saw it happen to even stronger Pokémon than himself before.

"Sunders went from being merely a nuisance to a priority threat in one _hour_. He managed to perform one of the fastest Awakening in history, and managed to regain his senses from the power overload as fast. Thanks to this_ all_ my plans in Castelia are jeopardized. Should you have waited, should you have just tried to wait for the exact moment to lodge a bullet in his head, all of this would have never happened. I will have to think of new failsafe… Use my latest invention way sooner than what is advisable…"

His master stopped for a moment, then turned back his attention to Sergei.

"Luckily for you, Sergei, I am willing to forgive you for this mess, even the part where you sent all your squad members to death. Because, you see, I am in search for a new test subject for my latest invention…"

Sergei immediately shot up at the news, his eyes suddenly filled with terror. No one ever came back from his master's laboratories sane. When they got back at all. However, he knew that he wasn't in any way fit to protest, given the disastrous news he brought back from his mission. So Sergei, resigned himself to his fate.

"Even luckier for you, this is an experiment that actually has a high chance for you to survive, and isn't even that painful compared to other… projects I have in store. And if it is successful, you will be able to redeem yourself for your stupidity. I want you to know that."

Releasing him, his master turned around and dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

"You will await in laboratory 1 for you to be experimented on. Should you manage to survive, you will then come to me for further instructions. You're dismissed."

Sergei stood up, and without a word, began walking out of the room, knowing full well that he got out lucky. When the automatic door closed behind him, his master sat back at his desk, and opened a new file on his computer.

On the screen appeared the faces of two Pokémon, a Raichu and a Trevenant. Pressing a touch, a phone symbol appeared on both of the pictures. The man waited for a moment, until the two pictures were replaced by video feeds of the people they represented.

"Master" said in unison the two Pokémon, the Trevenant's voice holding a very heavy tone, while the Raichu's was a bit higher.

"We have a problem, gentlemen. Sergei screwed us over, and I need to clean the mess he made."

"What are your orders, then?" asked deferently the Trevenant.

"I need you two back in Castelia. Your current operations are to be put on hold, the situation here is an utmost priority right now."

"Understood. Do you want us to depart immediately, or do we have time to hide our traces from our targets?" asked the Raichu.

"Cover your traces, and do it good. Counter-intelligence on Team Rocket's other pet projects is vital, I cannot afford them to discover us. When do you think you will be able to go?"

"In half-a-day, at most" answered the Raichu. "I do not have to pack a lot of things, and I will bring the data storage back with me."

"Alas, Master" replied the Trevenant, "I will take a bit longer. My base of operations on Cianwood Island needs more time to be disposed of properly. I will be ready to go in two days."

"Alright" said their master. "Blackjack" he said to the Raichu, "your place on a direct fly from Saffron Airport is already booked as we speak. You will use the fake identity number three. Departure tomorrow at dusk."

The Raichu, Blackjack, nodded.

"As for you, Wraith" said he while talking to the Trevenant, "you will contact our man once you're ready to go, and set sail to Olivine. From there, take a ferry towards Castelia. Once you land, go immediately to my headquarters for further instructions."

"Understood, Master" said the two Pokémon once again in unison.

"Good. Be swift."

And on those words, their master hang up. Massaging his head with one hand, he mumbled a curse towards Sergei.

"Thanks to him, I will have to revise my schedule drastically."

While he said that, the man got back to work.

*o*o*o*o*

_Castelia City _

_ Police Station _

"I will repeat it for the last time, sir: what we should be worried about is not what I did back there on the ship, but rather why our complainant's company logo showed up on a chopper carrying the terrorists we're looking for!"

Cody was trying to get out of Darius' office since an hour ago, but it proved quite difficult, given that Darius and Leon insisted deeply to know how in the name of Mew did Cody suddenly was able to create pillars of stone out of sheer force of will.

"We will come across this point once you told me how could you have done… how could have you done this!"

The Heracross still had trouble talking about what he saw on the footage, and Leon, who was also there, could understand him. If Cody had been this powerful all this time, it meant they had been bullying a very, very, very dangerous man.

"Damn it Darius, if I knew about it, I would have told you by now! Don't you think if I could learn to master what… what I did back there, I would do it in order to end this case as soon as possible, and stop with all the killings?"

Cody's argument made sense, and yet, Leon still thought he hid something from them. Understandable, though, as he probably thought as soon as his secret was out, his superior would use it at his advantage. Even more so, he was willing to let his rival off the hook this time, as investigating him would be a waste of time, and the case he was working on was far too bloody and held lesser than bad potential rewards for the Sylveon.

"Boss, it's been an hour we're locked here. Everyone is already gone, and I would like to sleep, for once. It's obvious he has nothing more to tell us."

"Fine!" shouted Darius. "I will drop it for the moment. But don't think I won't come back, Sunders! For that and for your questionable methods of working with the number one suspect of the case!"

"Please" laughed Cody bitterly, "It's obvious she was set up as a scapegoat by whoever is leading the show, Darius. I mean, the day she's accused, every potential alibi she could have die in a bonfire started by the man we fought on the Grand Unova. And she also sped up the investigations as well, so I would say it is a good idea to have her with us."

Darius said nothing, only gridding his teeth against each other in a futile attempt to not become angrier than he already was.

"Will that be all, _sir_?" said Cody while somehow making the mark of deference pass as an insult, "If so, I would like to recover from this very tiring day where I had to survive a lethal dose of drug, the loss of one of my friends, and a band of terrorists."

Darius reluctantly allowed the Krookodile cop to get out of his office, not while muttering a curse after that. The Krookodile immediately went towards the door, and closed it once he was out of the office. Just after that, he couldn't help but show the door his middle claw.

"Asshole."

Not wasting time, he called Rob on his phone. His friend answered him after a couple of seconds.

"_Cody? Where are you?_"

"At the office. Meet me at my place as soon as you can. I ought you and Anna an explanation as of what happened today."

"_Alright… I am at the hospital right now, do I bring Logan, or-_"

"No. We will tell him when his sister will wake up. Right now, he got the right to not be involved in this and spend time with his her."

"_Alright, then. See you soon!_ "

"See ya."

Cody hang up, and immediately phoned Anna. While he heard the dial, he got out of the police station, and walked towards his car.

"_So… your place, as soon as possible, right?_"

"Yes. Rob will be here too. You still okay with borrowing my place, by the way?"

"_I think I understand after three days that it doesn't bother you that much for me to sleep there, so yes, I am. Maybe I will ditch you in a few days however, I do have an apartment after all._ "

"Okay. We'll talk about this later. See ya."

"_See ya."_

Cody hang up on Anna, and started his engine, driving towards his building.

This is going to be a long night…

*o*o*o*o*

"He knows something about it he didn't want to tell us. I'm sure of it."

"For the last time, drop the matter Boss."

"I won't, Greyfield! Sunders is making us a laughing stock by hiding this! I will not allow it!"

"Maybe he is, maybe he has other reasons, and I don't care! Even if he told us, that would bring us nothing. As long as it doesn't threaten my paycheck or my life, it doesn't interest me. And that should be the case for you!"

"He threatened us!"

"If he wanted to kill us, he would have done it years ago, Darius. Stop being so stupid. I'm going home, and you should do as well. See you tomorrow, Boss."

*o*o*o*o*

_Castelia City _

_ Cody's Appartment _

Cody was sitting in the living room, the table in front of him supporting a pile of books while he held another one in his paws. The policeman was in an intense concentration, reading aloud some parts of the book and pausing in between sentences to think about their meanings.

He was about to close the first book with a sigh of regret when he heard his doorbell. Getting up from the couch, he went to open the door, revealing Anna in the doorway.

The Scrafty was back in her usual attire of the baggy pants common to her species along with a t-shirt hidden under a black sweater, necessary protection with the first snows already fallen. Cody for his part, wore a very original attire of a large pair of jeans and a white and plain t-shirt to go along with.

"You better have an explanation."

Cody grunted at the direct greeting from the Scrafty.

"I have some parts of it, but I'm researching the end right now. Come in."

Anna did so, and without being told, entered the living room on her own, and immediately noticed the books on the table. She went to pick them up, and began reading aloud the titles.

"_Rituals and Ceremonials, from Kanto to Kalos_…_Myths from Hoenn_…_The Legendaries of Hoenn and what science thinks of them_…_The Myth of the Half-Bloods: history or stories?_... You're thinking what happened on the boat was related to fairytales?"

Anna's tone was visibly disappointed, hoping to find something more plausible as to why her friend would suddenly become a killing machine.

"I don't think it, I know it. I'm trying to cut loose ties by looking in there, and I already found some interesting things."

"Wait… Aren't you the total atheist in there?"

"I will have to change my view on religion, I'm afraid."

"Alright, that is awfully cryptic, so mind doing the full version please?"

"I'm waiting for Rob to come in, then I will-"

The Krookorible was interrupted by the doorbell once again, and he went to open the door. This time, it was Rob that was found on the doorway. Once the usual salutations were exchanged, the Ledian went into the living room, followed by Cody. Once his two friends were sitting and listening, the cop cleared his throat.

"Alright… you both know what happened earlier today was… peculiar, to say the least. Notably, the fact that I was suddenly able to beat Sergei to a bloody pulp in close quarters and that I was able to shoot down a chopper with… ease, let's say."

"And you are going to tell us why, I suppose."

Anna didn't ask a question, she spoke matter of factly.

"The reason behind… All of this, is that I am now a half-god."

Silence rang hollow in the room, as the Ledian and the Scrafty looked at each other, unsure whether to laugh, to tell their friend if he was feeling alright, or to tell him to go on.

"Cody…" finally spoke Rob, "What you're saying is… unexpected, as well as less than believable. You know it, right?"

"I know it. But I have a proof."

Going into the kitchen, he looked at his recipients, until he got out a bowl made out of pottery, and placed it on the table, in front of his friends.

"This, is a pottery. While I may sound ridiculous when I say that, I know I am what the historians called a Half-Blood of Groudon. Which meant I have now control over dirt, earth and potentially the weather as well."

"Alright, that's enough" interrupted Rob. "Cody, it's obvious the day had been taxing for you. Why don't you rest a little and tell us what really happened tomor-"

He was interrupted, however, when he heard a crack. Turning back, he looked at the bowl. Who now had a part of it missing, with said part floating in the air.

The Ledian and the Scrafty looked at it in bewilderment, as the part slowly floated back towards Cody's paw. Cody grabbed the piece of pottery, and pressed his paw hard on it. A new crack was heard in the room, and Cody reopened his paw. However, what they saw weren't the shattered remains of the pottery, but a perfectly round sphere.

Cody didn't stop there, however. Still holding the sphere, the object began glowing an eerie red glow, then orange, then yellow. His two friends understood that the sphere was melting in Cody's paw, and that the Krookodile didn't even _flinch_ at that.

Then, the newly formed magma began flowing down his paw, slowly reaching for the ground…. Until it stopped in midair, and instead made a curve and flowed _up_, as the magma was now making a full circle passing by Cody's paw. After a few moments of this, Cody recalled all of the magma back in his paw, and pagan shaping it like a spearhead. A short moment later, the magma solidified into obsidian, while emitting steam and hissing all along the sudden cooling.

And then he threw it directly at Anna.

The Scrafty didn't even had time to duck as the obsidian dagger stopped just in front of her face, Anna still feeling the residual heat on her face. It then returned back to Cody, who pressed it in his paw once again. When he reopened it, the piece of pottery Cody took in the first place was back, the exact same shape as before. The cop then replaced it in the bowl, and passed his claw along the mark of fissure. It closed on itself, and once he was done, the bowl was as good as new.

Cody looked at his friends, who looked back at him with a mix of amazement, terror, and disbelief.

"This… This just can't have happened…" muttered Anna.

"How in the name of Arceus is this even possible?" said quietly the Ledian

"Simple" replied the Krookodile. "I am a Half-Blood linked to Groudon. Which means my life just got that more complicated."

*o*o*o*o*

_Origin Cave _

Under the city of Sootopolis, located in Hoenn, laid one of the holiest place in the world for every Pokémon. The Origin Cave's doors hadn't been open since the Erasure, but it didn't stop the place to be a place of pilgrimage for everyone attracted to the faith of the two Legendary Guardian of the Earth and the Sea, Groudon and Kyogre, nor had it stopped the guardians of the cave to transmit the old rituals to their descendants.

However, because those doors were closed, didn't mean no one could enter the cave.

Under the city was a whole network of underwater coves and caves, one of them who has been the only point of entrance in Sootopolis long ago. This network held one very peculiar passage, located so deep under the level of the sea, the pressure would crush any Pokémon who would dare descent this far. Any expect the Legendary revered by Hoenn's people.

Said passageway was currently being taken by Kyogre, the majestic blue Legend swimming with ease at this depth, despite the clear lack of visibility. It didn't take her long to reach the end of the tunnel, and could see a small light emerging from the surface of the water. She gently rose up to the surface, emerging from the water with grace.

She quickly looked around her, analyzing everything in her immediate vicinity. She noticed the magma pools were still burning hot, the streams still flowing effortlessly, the stone not featuring some kind of crack anywhere. All in all, the state of the Origin Cave was identical as the one she witnessed last time she came here.

"Glad you could come."

The sudden outburst of voice didn't surprise Kyogre in the slightest, knowing full well only one other being excluding Arceus and possibly Palkia could come in the Origin Cave without opening the doors. Said other being was also someone she knew personally, sometimes too much to her liking.

"What is it, Groudon?" asked she in a bored tone.

Kyogre and Groudon were counterparts. Created by Arceus to rule over the sea and the land respectively, and to orchestrate the moving of the continents, the two Pokémon had to work closely in the past.

The fact that they were like siblings despite their several physical differences meant that Rayquaza had needed to be created in an emergency to stop the duo destroying the world. Even though they held battles back in the day, who often ended in a cataclysm of epic proportions, the pair had agreed on a truce over time, and now found to their surprise they could spend genuine good moments between each other.

Being they were created siblings however, of course made them almost always insufferable towards each other, truce or not.

"Sorry to have called you so hurriedly, Kyogre, but I needed to talk to you as soon as I could."

"I told you, if it is to talk about the last time I accidentally drowned the island you were resting in three months ago, I already told you I was sorry."

"What are you talk- Oh no, it's more serious. Far more serious."

Now, Kyogre looked at her brother with interest. For groudon to drop the matter on the subject of her 'pranks' towards him (she would rather call them 'educational actions') so quickly, the matter was indeed serious.

"I'm listening."

"Short version: I have a new Half-Blood."

If Kyogre hadn't been the Legend Guardian of the sea, she would have choked on the seawater she was currently being in.

"Groudon?! You tell me you mated with a mortal without informing Arceus _again_? Do you know how much trouble this could cause if he were to unleash his power at random?"

"That's the point: It has been three hundred years since my last mating. Which means absolutely no one could have enough of my blood left in them for the Awakening to trigger. And more worryingly, he _already_ used his power."

"Wait, wait, wait… You mean you only learned of him when he awakened? Shouldn't you have a warning before that? Isn't it how that works? Since it hasn't happened to me that much, I don't know about the whole process."

"That's the thing: I suddenly knew of his existence the moment he used his first empowered Move. And that's not all: he used Precipice Blades."

"He already used you signature attack? Moments after he awakened?"

"Yes, and that's why it worries me. He isn't supposed to be _that_ powerful this early. He is a complete mystery: I don't know where he is, where he came from, who he is, even… I don't know how did he obtain his powers or why, simple at all. And that's what worries me."

"We need to tell Arceus about this, Groudon. We have to dispose of him if he is as much of threat."

"That's precisely because I don't want to that I called for you."

"Groudon, I swear, you are _not_ going into this whole mess with a Half-Blood. Last time, it resulted in East Hoenn being nearly sunken, and Sootopolis' crater to actually _become_ a crater!"

"Listen to me, sis, please!"

"If you don't have something intelligent to say on the matter, I won't! And I'm not saying that because you're my brother, but because I can't allow you as a fellow Legend to put your people in danger."

"I will tell Arceus about him! Just… not now."

"Why?"

"Because we're part of the Opposing Faction, and that with a little bit of luck, this Half-Blood's sudden appearance might be the proof we were waiting for!"

Kyogre tried to reply at that, but couldn't find an argument to counter Groudon's. They needed to prove Team Rocket was somehow planning to use Half-Bloods to their profit, and how.

"I sensed he wasn't in Hoenn. As such, my actions are limited, since I cannot move out of the region without Arceus and Palkia knowing it, or assuming a mortal disguise, which I can't do for too long."

"You can't ask Hoopa?"

Groudon shivered upon mention of the Legendary's name.

"I could, but I value my life. I saw him opening a portal leading to _space_ by accident. It wasn't pretty. You however, can send one of your agents overseas, and try to localize him. If you got information that he is a good guy that could somehow use his power for something else than his personal gain, then we will advise. If there is the slightest hint of him abusing them… Then we will report him to Arceus immediately, and he won't be a bother anymore."

Kyogre pondered about this for a moment, and after a moment, nodded to her brother.

"I don't like this, but it's technically _your_ Half-Blood. I will follow your plan about him, but promise me you will do what's necessary should it come down to that, okay?"

"I will, sis. I promise over my soul."

Kyogre couldn't help but a smile a little at her brother's grandiloquent promise.

"Alright. But remember, brother, if it backfires on us, I _will_ kick your arse, is that clear?"

"Crystal, madam." Laughed the red Legendary. "Seriously, though… Thank you Kyogre."

"Yeah… Don't get used to me being nice, okay?"

And on those words, Kyogre went back underwater, leaving her brother alone in the cavern's chamber.

*o*o*o*o*

Rob left about an hour later, once Cody was done retelling his encounter with the spirit of Nazca, and what she told him. This leaved Rob and Anna clearly confused, and they wouldn't have believed it without Cody's showing off his new skills.

Rob left blabbering, promising he would look into it at the city's library, see if he could find something useful. Cody thanked him with a sad smile, even though he knew his Ledian friend wouldn't find something useful. Once the door was closed, Cody's facial features dropped. Coming back into the living room, where Anna was still taking in the new information, Cody got out a bottle of whiskey, and, to Anna's surprise, served himself a whole glass.

"Wow, easy there. That's quite a lot to take in in one go, don't you think?"

Cody sat on the couch, next to Anna, without a word. Seeing no response at all, Anna grew worried.

"Cody, are you all right?"

"Guess so." came the Krookodile's reply, harsh and cold, his eyes still fixed on the glass. "One of my best friends died today. A friend _I_ sent on a trail I couldn't afford time to investigate. And now he is dead."

Cody took the glass, holding it in front of the light coming from the luminaries.

"He offered me this bottle for my birthday. Five months ago. Told me it was a little nothing to his best customer. When I looked up the name, I found out it was worth three times my annual pay."

The cop placed the glass back on the table, still holding on it as if scared it would go away.

"So I saw him the next morning, told him I couldn't accept it. We argued about it a lot, and in the end we came to a compromise: we would throw a party with all his friends and mine for New Year, and there we would open the bottle."

"And now he's dead."

He turned back to Anna, his eyes wet and hurt, yet his voice full of venom.

"Ten minutes later, I learn my mother messed with my egg, not waiting for me to even be _born_, and somehow, it resulted in me becoming a new kind of superhero with powers that freak out even my closest friends. I started this case one week ago at most, and one of my friends is dead, another is at the hospital, the remaining ones fear me, I became a fucking _monster_-"his voice faltered slightly at this word, "my boss wants me fired, my father hates me and I return the feeling, and to top it all, the bastard escaped _again_."

"So tell me, Anna. Tell me how could I be all right?!" suddenly shouted the cop.

"I've hit rock bottom. I'm scared, I'm hurt, I'm grieving, I'm changing for the worse, my life is getting insane! How could I be alright?!"

A small silence followed, broken by Cody's sudden whimper, as he turned his face around.

"…How could I be alright, huh?"

Anna wasn't able to speak after the whole speech, and didn't know what to do when Cody burst into tears in front of her.

"I killed him… I _killed_ him…" said he between pauses for breath. "If I had done my job, if I had left him out of this… He would still be alive… I am a complete monster. I sent him to death, and he smiled at me when I did that."

"You're not a monster…"

Anna would have mentally smacked herself if Cody hadn't reacted immediately. Deciding she might as well carry on with her outburst, she kept talking.

"Yes, that time when you lost control was pretty scary, but you came back soon enough. I mean, you never burned anyone alive, as far as I know. You're not a monster for doing mistakes, Cody. Use that word for people like Sergei or the asshole behind all of this shit, not for you. Mew, you're probably the Pokémon that fit this definition the less I met in my whole life!"

Cody sniffed loudly, trying to stop his uncontrolled crying, and failing, but still listening to his thief friend.

"And for that whole… thing about Groudon and things I don't know a shit about-"Cody chuckled at this, which netted a small smile from Anna, "-that still doesn't make you a monster. When the initial shock pass, well it's… it's pretty neat actually. I mean, from what your books told you, you can now swim in magma! I don't know about you but I think it's awesome."

Another chuckle from Cody, who looked like he was slowly but surely coming back to his old self.

"So stop blaming yourself so much, alright? You're in a position where almost everyone would have snapped a long time by now, and yet, you're still there. You can put those people in jail, and I know you will, because they gave you even more motivation to do so. Plus, with your new powers, you can now fight them even better!"

"So what, you think my new… condition is a good thing, now?"

"Neither good nor bad. It all depends on how you will let it affect you."

"That's surprisingly insightful coming from you."

That would have hurt Anna if she didn't saw the small grin the cop couldn't help but hold on his face as he taunted her.

"Asshole" she laughed while lightly punching him in the shoulder (after making sure it wasn't the one whose arm took the bullet), "you really know how to make me regret helping you, you know?"

Cody snorted at this, and looked once again at the full glass placed on the table. After a few moments, he went up, and threw the whiskey down the bottle again.

"Thank you," he said. "I… I'm not sure if I'm going to break down again or not, but… thank you."

"Eh… Don't worry about it. That's what friends are for, right?"

"Yeah… You're right…"

Cody stood up from the couch.

"I'm going to the bathroom. Trying to make me look less like a mess."

Anna only nodded as her friend went to clean himself up. The moment she heard the door of the bathroom close, she decided to take a look at the books placed in front of her.

Anything is better than thinking about him in that matter, anyways…

Anna shook her head, holding it in one hand and looking quite desperate.

_ Seeing you that way shouldn't have hurt me that much… It shouldn't have… _


	9. Chapter 9 : Overreaction

**One month almost day for day. Talk about my promises of updating more regularly…**

**So, everyone: Darren Xirias here, and with my longest chapter so far. Over 8k words, I know, that is fantastic, thank you, thank you. Autographs will be signed at the end of this Author's Note, please place yourself into an ordinated line, thank you very much.**

**More seriously though. I took time to update because this chapter was a **_**royal**_** pain in the b***. In the end, I am pleased with how it came out, but Arceus, I wasn't thinking that two weeks ago. **

**Firstly, I am putting the gears of an important plot point into movement, and if you read my previous story and/or looked with attention at the story information, you probably already know exactly what I'm talking about. But, in contrast, this same plot point… I feel I kinda rushed it. I fear I didn't place enough hints, enough foreshadowing, for it to appear legitimate. I would really, really, really, REALLY love to know what are you thinking about that, because that has been eating me for almost a month right now, and I fear I might repeat the process if I'm not careful.**

**On the other hand, after the climax that was the Grand Unova two parter and the necessary info dump that went just after it, well, the pace settled down, and I had difficulty with that. Especially since I know you guys really prefer when I'm not letting my characters for hours and let them battle instead (I admit, in other fics I read, I am also like that).**

**There you have it. With this AN, I even went over the 8,5k bar, and I feel a little bit tired I admit ^^ But don't worry, I want to write the next chapter as soon as possible, because I am way too much excited for it. After that one, we will still have some training for our hero to do, and then thing will be beginning to go downhill. Now you want to know what happens next, am I right?**

**Anyways, that's all guys. Onwards with the story!**

**Disclaimer: Nintendo and Game Freak own Pokemon. If I did, we would have Magikarp as a playable character in Pokkén.**

*o*o*o*o*

_Castelia City_

_Cody's apartment_

When Anna woke up and got out of the bedroom, she saw Cody already tapping on his computer furiously, some of the books he studied the day before sitting near it. A steaming hot coffee cup was in his hand, and he was absently sipping on it little by little.

"Morning" said the Scrafty.

"Morning. There's still coffee in the machine, so serve yourself."

Anna did so while muttering a thanks. Dressed in the attire she wore when barging in the day before, she went to the kitchen, saw the coffee machine, and served herself a cup. When she began drinking it, however, she immediately spit it back in the lavatory, holding her tongue out.

"Holy mother of… That's _hot_!"

"Huh? What, the coffee? It's barely mild!"

"Cody, yours is steaming, it's not mild, it's probably just as hot."

Cody looked back at his cup, and saw what Anna was talking about.

"Damn… This whole Half-Blood thing must mess with my head… It's boiling hot and I find it mild."

"Technically, for you, it's now mild. Guess you will make sure your food doesn't get cold."

"I guess. If you don't want to wait for it to get colder, pour water in it. I won't take another cup."

Anna did so, while Cody was still busy on his computer. When the Scrafty managed to get a cup at a decent temperature, she came back to her host.

"So… I take it you're busy?"

"You bet. Since we know Karkarov Dietrich is probably compromised, calling him for further information is out of the question. Given we're not going to see Sergei in the near future, and that our dealer must be extra cautious now, we're at a dead point. So I'm preparing the field for our next encounter."

"Which means?"

"A lot. Firstly, I am now able to use Moves, but I will need to use them correctly. I'm trying to find some kind of fighting club or martial arts dojo, I heard the most talented fighters were able to use toned down versions of Moves, so I could always use their advice. Secondly, I'm booking everything I can that speaks of Aura, Half-Bloods and such at the local library. And thirdly, I'm sending mails to some people, reminding them they owe me favors, and placing them as informants. The moment that piece of shit or someone linked to him get out of hiding, I will know, and I will find him."

Anna let out an impressed whistle.

"You sure know your job, big guy. I'm almost amazed."

"The 'almost' was too much, Anna" laughed good naturally the Krookodile. "And lastly, I booked myself a ticket for Lilycove City for in two weeks."

"Wait… You're going back to Hoenn in two weeks?"

"Did I mention we were celebrating my nephew's birthday two weeks before Arceusmas? And that I don't have the faintest idea of a gift?"

Anna facepalmed.

*o*o*o*o*

_Mode Street, Castelia Mall_

"I can't believe you talked me into shopping with you for a birthday gift when we're in the middle of an investigation."

"Trust me, if I had more time to myself this last month, I would have remembered before!"

The two Dark-Types were almost running between the shops of the mall, trying to find a suitable gift for a twelve year old. Needless to say, the restriction placed by Cody's sister-in-law made the whole ordeal much harder.

"It's Saturday, and I want to have my weekend for myself, for once."

"Shopping for your nephew is your idea of a good weekend?"

"Stop asking those questions!"

While keeping on their playful banter, they passed by the drugstore where the terrorist attack orchestrated by Sergei some days ago took place. Seeing it, Cody looked away, and accelerated his steps, keeping silent for a moment.

Surprisingly enough, despite the attack, the mall was crowded with people, probably because Arceusmas was around the corner. As such, the cop and the thief had a hard time navigating around the place. Seeing a map of the mall at a crossroads, the duo walked towards it, and once arrived, looked at it.

"Alright. We can toss aside the jewelers, I suppose?"

"I don't think my nephew likes jewelry, so yes. No videogames, so videogames stores are out of the question… I couldn't chose his clothes for the life of me, so that's out too…"

"What about the bookshop? Does he like teenage novels?"

"I dunno… I know he likes soccer however, so maybe I could offer him a new ball at this store… On the other paw, if he doesn't like it anymore…"

"Do you have any other idea?"

Cody thought about it

"Actually, no. New soccer ball it is"

Locating the shop they were looking for, the resumed their walk. On the way, they passed by a travel agency with various tours around the world on display.

"Hey, Anna, have you ever been outside Unova?"

"Only once. The man who taught me my job took me with him when he was tasked to steal a painting from a Kalosian museum. Lumiose was a pretty city, but I didn't see much of it."

"I heard it was one of the most beautiful cities in the world, though. That's sad you didn't saw it."

"Yeah, well… Who knows, when I am rich enough from my thieving days, I will do a world tour! How's that for a dream, huh?" said she with a satisfied smile;

"A pretty nice one, I admit" laughed Cody. "If you could take me to Sootopolis one day, I would be glad."

"You didn't visit it back when you were in Hoenn?"

"No. It's actually pretty hard to reach, and my parents never had time for it, Dad being a commando, and Mom being… Mom."

Cody let out an audible sigh.

"Let me guess… angry at her?"

"You can't imagine. She never took care of me or my brother when we were young, and apologized by trying to enlist us in a new sect every two months. And now, thanks to her, I am deep into mythical jumbo I didn't even knew it existed in the first place. So yeah, I'm actually glad she won't be coming for my nephew's birthday. She didn't even knew his name last time I asked her, so, yeah."

The two stayed silent for a moment, until Cody resumed talking.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have bantered like that. You probably don't give a fuck about my mother."

"Not about your mother, but about you I do. So don't worry about it."

After a few seconds of silence, Anna hurriedly changed the subject.

"So… Sootopolis, you said? It looks gorgeous, I admit. All this white stone polished by the sun, lost in the middle of the sea…"

She paused for a moment.

"Wait… Isn't Sootopolis a place of cult for Groudon and Kyogre?"

Cody stopped dead in his tracks.

"…Yes…"

Silence.

"Maybe it's the vibes of the place that attire me. I don't know too much about it, but I read I could be attracted to places with high relevance towards my Legendary of adoption."

"That got to be it."

It was obvious Cody was a little unnerved by the revelation, but he shrugged it off, not wanting it to add to the whole mess his life was starting to become recently. Anna didn't talk about it again on their trip to the sports store.

Once they arrived, they proceed to enter the shop through the brightly lit entrance, with purple, orange and red neon tubes all over the place. Inside the store were shelves aligned perfectly, with panels hanging from the roof indicating which sports which section corresponded to. Not liking the mood of the place too much, Cody went towards the soccer section, Anna on his trail.

They looked for new balls, and found one with the signature of a famous pro player in the Unovan championship which Cody knew his nephew liked, and that wasn't too costly.

"This one will do."

"Wait… This player… The player on the panel is the one that signed this, right?"

Anna pointed at the panel she was speaking of while asking her question, and Cody looked at the picture of a smiling Haxorus, his left foot placed on the ball, in the middle of a soccer field.

"Yep, that's him. Daniel Finley, golden boy of the Iccirus' Raiders. Why do you ask?"

"He raped a Liepard, once."

The accusation was so sudden and heavy, Cody had to do a double take.

"Erm… Can you repeat, please?"

"He raped a Liepard, once. The prosecutor was an old friend of his, so he was left unharmed, but the poor girl we took in at Equality after that was left broken by the events. There's also the pretty nice stories of him being involved with the murder of a Pangoro in his hometown of Icirrus. And there was that time where he refused to sign an autograph to a bunch of kids that met him at an event. Dark-Types, of course. Should I carry on?"

Cody looked between the ball and the panel, passing from one to the other, before placing back the ball where he found it.

"I'm pretty sure the asshole won't mind."

Saying that, the Krookorible took another ball placed in the shelves, one not signed by anyone, but apparently made of better materials, if the commercial was to be trusted.

"I'm surprised you know him that much. You had to steal him, or something?" asked Cody while walking back to the checkouts.

"I was with those kids. Equality paid them the trip because their parents couldn't afford to. Bastard took their ball, torn it to shred and threw it back to them before telling us to fuck off, and threatening to call the security for good measure."

She turned to Cody, smiling devilishly.

"Too bad I got pictures of him with his mistress. The money he had to spend into the whole divorce was quite an amount."

"I will tell my nephew not to root for the Raiders anymore. I always preferred the Nimbasan Devils, anyways."

"The team I root for as well. That's sweet."

The two stayed silent for a moment while waiting to pay for their purchase.

"Do your family… know, about the whole racism deal going on in the region?"

"No. I sheltered them from it. They don't have to experience it, even indirectly. Although Dad might know something is up. As much as I don't like him, the old man has a sharp eye and a sharp mind."

Cody looked like as if he was going to add something more, but suddenly it was their turn to go at the checkout. The payment went quickly, and the pair got out of the shop soon enough. Once outside, the conversation carried on.

"You know, although I said I didn't like my father, it's more complicated. As in, we're angry at each other right now because we're two stubborn morons, but in the end, when Mom left, he did the best he could do and then more. Along with us, the military was all he knew, so it made sense he would try to get us in, as a way to bond with us, or something."

"If I remember correctly, your father is a commando, right?"

"Yes, he is. What went wrong in this is that my father isn't some stupid goon armed with a gun and released on the enemy's lines. He is in the team of a living legend, and he did his fair share of heroics as well."

"How so?"

"Try the Chimney Incident."

"Your father was in _that_? This made the news for months when that happened!"

"And thanks to him and the team he's part of, almost everyone got a happy ending in the end. Of course there were casualties, some deaths were just unavoidable… but when the Hoenn Commandos stepped in, the mess was dealt with in hours, where it was estimated it would take days, or even _months_."

Cody sighed deeply.

"And the problem was that, no matter how hard I tried, how hard I worked, I just couldn't match him. I disappointed him way too often, especially when his other son, Jordan, was a much better soldier and then officer than me."

"But you're a good officer, too! I mean, you're kind of an officer there, and your men are completely loyal to you, no?"

"One of them is in the hospital right now, and the other is traumatized for life. It's not about if they'll follow you or not, it's about whether they will be able to. I'm not a good leader. Dad, while not the commanding officer of his corps, has twenty men under his command, and all of them survived through years of fighting. Plus, I just can't get along with my superiors. In the military, you might as well paint on yourself a 'fire me' sign. The only thing I was good at were guns and close-quarters. No tactics, no commanding, no diplomacy, nothing. I was just good at killing things, and in a civilized country, that was what you don't put in your army. And now I'm here. End of story."

While they talked, the two came upon a small plaza, departing into several directions at once, and with a small fountain in the center, along with a plan.

"Where is the nearest exit?" asked Cody when he came upon it. "Alright, we'll pass over there."

He took the third hallway on his right, Anna still following him.

"I saw you, Cody, and I know you're worth more than just killing things. Right now, with the stress placed by the case, you can't see it, but once you will have that bastard in your claws and put him to jail, I will force you to take a vacation to help you find the meaning of your life."

"You really think so? That I'm worth more than that?"

"Lena told me herself that without you, a third of the department would have quit after Starck's death. You're giving them motivation Cody. They know it's going to be painful of they follow you, but they do it anyways, and they are happy to do so! Plus, you are some kind of chosen one to Groudon, now, that must count for something."

"Why are you doing this for me?"

"Huh?"

The question was unexpected, Cody took the Scrafty off-guard.

"Don't get it wrong, I appreciate what you're doing right now, but you're probably the nicest people with me I ever met, as well as the one who's willing to take all my burdens off me. Even friends I have known for years haven't come this far just to help me. Why you?"

Anna opened her mouth to answer, but closed it back when no good reason came to her. Misjudging his friend's silence for offense, Cody quickly corrected himself.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked that. I know you don't want anything out of me in return. That was… rude of me, to ever imply something like this, even unintentionally… Oh, Legends, I'm just digging myself deeper, am I?"

"No, no, don't worry, I don't take it wrong. It's just… Your question startled me, that's all. For me, it was obvious friends help each other that way, but I forgot you're a bit short in that department."

Somehow, Cody thought the thief was hiding something from him, but decided to let it pass. Instead, he directed the conversation into another territory.

"You got a lot of friends at Equality, I take it."

"Yeah. Everyone there have been nothing but awesome for me. Seriously, I'm not sure if I would have stayed a good person without their support. In my job, you often see the worst in people's minds, especially when it comes to vendettas or when huge amounts of money are involved. I did things I'm not proud of in my early days as a thief, and let's just say my friends managed to get me out of this."

"You're still stealing, though."

"I do, because I _am_ good at it, but everyone that hires my services must follow my rules. I'm a freelance, and everyone trying to enlist me in a gang have the door shut on their nose. Same for killings, I'll never go into that."

"Even for the likes of Sergei?"

"Monsters like him are an exception. Seriously, if he doesn't get imprisoned in the worst hellhole there is in the world, I will get him killed. He's way too dangerous to be free."

"I agree with you. Though I would like it if you could refrain from killing him before he spilled everything he knows about the whole drug network."

"Says the man who tried to crush him beneath the whole terrestrial crust."

"I wasn't myself, and you know it."

"Alright, alright, I'm stopping."

As they stopped talking, the pair passed by a jeweler. Anna looked at the display without really paying attention, and her eyes stuck on something inside it. Seeing his partner didn't follow him anymore, Cody turned to see her enraptured by what appeared to be a collar formed of silver, encasing numerous pearls in loops of thin silver filaments.

"Interested?"

Upon hearing this, Anna shook her head as if she had been in a dream.

"Oh, not really. Jewelry like that isn't really suited to my job."

Cody didn't even have to look at her to see she was lying in order to appear tougher than she was, and trying to prove she didn't want that collar.

"Come on, let's go."

But Cody didn't move towards the exit like Anna did. Instead, he went to the display, looking for the price. It was costly, yes, but still within reason.

_I am going to regret this, but fuck it._

Nonetheless, Cody didn't miss a beat in entering the shop, to Anna's surprise. Before she could even begin to protest, Cody was at the vendor's throat.

"I would like to buy the silver and pearl collar, if you please."

The vendor, an Excadrill, took down said collar from display, all the while complimenting Cody's choice.

"You have a good eye, sir. This piece marry well with almost all colors of clothes you can find. Is it for a surprise?"

"You could say that."

While the two men were discussing, Anna entered the shop, furious at her friend.

"What are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm dancing with the President."

"I forbid you to buy that collar, do you hear me?"

"Whoops, sorry, didn't heard you while I was tapping the code of my pay card."

And sure enough, Cody had tapped the code, securing the payment, while Anna tried to convince him otherwise. The cop took his card back, along with the collar, and got out of the shop, a fuming Anna behind him.

"You're a moron."

"That's rude to say that when people offer you gifts."

"A gift I don't want!"

"You didn't say that when you looked at it in the display."

"I never had jewelry before, and that's not going to change."

"Won't you at least try it out?"

"No."

To prove her point, Anna began walking away from Cody, pouting. The cop walked beside her, still trying to convince her.

"You sure?"

"I said no."

"Come on. You want it, don't lie to me."

"I don't want it!"

"Why?"

"Because fuck you, Cody!"

Anna stormed off, leaving Cody dumbfounded for a short while, before he ran back to her, catching her arm and looking into her eyes.

"There is something that stops you, am I right?"

"Let me go."

"Once you answered my question."

"Let me go."

"Don't try to play stubborn with me, I am a world champion."

"Let. Me. Go."

"No."

"There is nothing, damn it!"

"You're lying."

"IT'S BECAUSE IT'S FROM YOU, IDIOT!"

Cody immediately let go of her arm, surprised by the sudden shouting.

"Wh… What do you mean by that?"

"I can't accept it from you, because I don't want you to offer me things just because you pity me."

"I don't pity you!"

"You thought I didn't have enough money for it, didn't you?"

"No, that's not it!"

"So why have you bought it?"

"BECAUSE I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU SOMETHING!"

It was Anna's turn to recoil because of the sudden shouting.

"Alright? I just wanted to make you happy, because I like you, and that's all!"

The two stayed silent for a moment, only for Anna to talk back slowly.

"…Because you like me?" asked she cautiously, with a hint of wariness in her voice. Cody froze at the statement, realizing what he had done.

_Arceus, tell me I didn't say that out loud._

But judging by Anna's reaction, he did, and Cody didn't know how to get out of this situation.

"What does this mean, Cody? You like me? Or… do you _like_ me?"

"No, no, not in that way!"

Anna's face darkened, and somehow, Cody knew he said the wrong thing.

"I see… Then, if you don't mind, I will be on my way. I know everything I need to know from you."

Anna turned, and went back the hallway they just passed by. Cody immediately leapt after her.

"I'm sorry, Anna, this wasn't what I was trying to say!"

"Really?" asked the thief without even turning her face towards his, "well then, what were you trying to say?"

"I don't know, that came out wrong, yes, but I just wanted to get that collar for you, nothing else!"

Anna stopped, turned, and grabbed Cody by the neck, startling him.

"You are an _asshole_, Sunders. Do me a favor and stop playing with my feelings."

"Your feeling-"tried to ask Cody before being slammed on the ground by Anna, who ran away from him after that. The cop got up slowly after that, brushing his head. Looking around him, he saw no trace of Anna, who probably went as far away from him as possible, judging by her reactions. After a small moment, however, he began seeing a lot of people trying their hardest to pretend they weren't looking at him.

"Do you have a problem with me?" growled he while barring his teeth at said people, which convinced them to go look elsewhere.

Cody grabbed the collar, the ball for his nephew, and went to the exit of the mall. Just as he went outside, his phone rang. Sighing deeply, he posed his bag down, and took the phone out, seeing Rob's name being displayed. Cody took the call.

"What is it Rob?"

"_Cody, Lena woke up!_"

*o*o*o*o*

_Castelia City_

_Edmond's appartment_

Edmond Richards, leader of the Equality association, was busy messaging all of his friends located in Virbank to try and convince them to join the pacifist march he was trying to build, in order to protest against the burning of their headquarters, when he heard heavy banging at his door. Surprised, the Shiftry got up, and went to open his door.

"Who is it?"

"Just open the door already, you know it's me."

He recognized the voice as being Anna's, and let her enter. She ran to the sofa as soon as the door was opened, and jumped on it, before settling for a sitting position with her legs crossed.

"What's up, Ed?"

Edmond sighed with a soft smile at his friend's antics, before quietly closing the door.

"Nothing really new since the whole incident. Trying to build up another march, hoping it will finally work while knowing it won't. You know, the usual. And yourself?"

"I was on the ship you probably saw on the news yesterday. Good news is we know our man, bad news is he escaped and we don't know for who he is working."

"Still better than nothing. Do you want something?"

"Nah, I'll be fine. I'm not thirsty."

Nonetheless, the Shiftry went in the kitchen, in order to serve himself a glass of wine. He came back shortly after this, sitting in front of the Scrafty.

"I don't know how you manage to deal with it so casually. Even after all the losses I had to bear before, every time it's just as hard as the previous."

"The way I see it, it's better to act than to mourn them" told him the thief. "They will probably be happier wherever they are now if their murderer is brought to justice than if we just wail in despair."

"You have a point. But still…"

The Shiftry took his glass and drank a little of the wine.

"To think this time it wasn't even made out of hate, but for _profit_… Seeing our friends, our family, being worth less than money in the eyes of some perverted man, willing to burn alive innocent people… It makes me lose faith in our kind."

"Not everyone is like that, and you know it Edmond. There is you, for example."

The Shiftry smiled tiredly at Anna's compliment.

"Thank you. But as nice as I am, that didn't stop our friends to be killed that night."

"He will pay for that, Ed. I promise you he will pay, even if it is the last thing I must do."

Anna's eyes flared with a malicious intent for a moment, before reverting back to normal as fast as they changed. Edmond didn't notice.

"And how? We still don't know who he is. Or even if it's a _he_, for that matter. We just know his henchman, and if the Castelian Police is as competent as before, which I highly suspect, then our criminal still has a lot of time before him."

"Don't talk about the Police to me."

Edmond didn't miss the very audible snort Anna made.

"I take it your new friend wasn't as nice as you thought him to be, I presume?"

Anna was confused for a moment.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"The Krookorible. The policeman."

"He never was my friend. I just thought so."

"Let me guess. He slowed the investigation in order to get paid more?"

"No! Nothing like that!"

"So what did he do? Is he working with the murderers?"

"Neither! As much as I loathe him, he isn't doing any of evil cop clichés. Actually, without him, I wouldn't have made it this far in the investigation."

Edmond was now thoroughly confused. His friend told him Sunders wasn't someone she would talk to ever again, and yet he apparently did nothing wrong.

"I'm lost here. You loathe him even though he's been helpful, and not corrupted in any manner? I don't understand."

"He is just an asshole. A complete asshole."

Anna's tone made it clear her opinion on the cop wasn't going to change.

"Alright… what happened?"

"He toyed with my feelings. He made me believe he was a genuine nice guy, but when I confronted him about it, he wasn't even able to defend himself."

"How did he so? From what I remember, you're not the kind of people that are fooled easily."

"He offered me a place to sleep when I didn't want to come back near the headquarters, he pretended to help me with my personal problems while he told me about his, which were probably faked now that I think about this, and then he tried to bribe me with some stupid piece of jewelry I didn't want. I snapped at that moment, and then I confronted him. And now I'm here."

Anna crossed her arms.

"End of story."

Edmond processed the information for a moment staying absolutely silent. Until he erupted in laughter, that is. Anna, of course, wasn't pleased with it.

"What are you laughing for?"

"Sorry, Anna" managed to say the Shiftry between two fits of laughter, "you just sounded so much like a teenager right now, it was _way _too funny."

Anna went positively livid at the accusation.

"I'm trying to tell you what happened with this moron, and this all you have to say?"

"Come on, you were angry because you like him and he didn't reciprocate your feelings."

"He played with them! How could I not be angry?"

Edmond sighed, although he couldn't help but still smiling at his friend's overreaction.

"Why don't you tell me everything that happened, and let me be the judge for that, huh?"

*o*o*o*o*

_Castelia City_

_Castelia's Hospital_

Cody knocked gently at the door, waiting for it ti be opened. Logan appeared in behind it once he opened to Cody, looking rather happy.

"Come on in. She wanted to see you. Sis!" yelled he to Lena in the back of the room "he is over there!"

"Took you long enough!" came the annoyed reply. Cody chuckled softly at this. Apparently, Lena's beating didn't change her character in the slightest. The Krookodile followed Logan into the room, where he could see Lena laying on the bed, pale and aghast, but nonetheless putting a brave front and smiling, and Rob sitting on a chair in the corner.

"Come on, you know how rush hour can get in the neighborhood. I promised I came as soon as I heard the news."

"Tauros' shit, Rob called you one hour ago. Where were you, busy shopping with your secret girlfriend?"

Cody's face instantly dropped a little, but knowing full well Lena meant it as a jab, he held the smile.

"Shopping, yes. I do have my nephew's birthday to attend in two weeks, so I had to. But I don't have a secret girlfriend, rest assured."

"Right" snorted Lena "I thought I was the only love in your life."

"Well, excuse me for not living up to your expectations!"

"I will forgive you for this one. But you better behave, or else…"

They stayed silent for a whopping five seconds before everyone in the room burst into laughter, unable to resist the silliness of the exchange.

"Seriously, though" asked Cody one the laughter died down, "how are you right now?"

"Honestly? Terrible. My head is fine, but I can't even try to move the rest of my body without praying to Arceus for it to stop. The doctors said about my whole chest fur is so badly burned, there is chance it will never grow back. I will have to wait for the therapy to take effect before I can move without cursing everything that ever lived, so yeah…"

Lena sighed deeply.

"I am pretty much stuck here."

"Oh, don't worry about it. I can't expect you to get back in the field this soon after taking a whole Fire Blast."

"I should worry! Rob just told me I have been asleep for almost a week! I just know what you did with Anna in the basics!"

She stopped for a moment, before adding: "And Logan and I know… about your… newfound abilities."

"I take it you told them?" asked the Krookodile to Rob, who nodded. "Alright, then. That's going to spare me some time."

"Honestly, I wish I was there. The face Sergei must have made when he saw you coming at him! How was it, by the way?"

"Stressful" bluntly answered the Krookodile. "And not awesome at all. I lost myself into a blood rage, ingested a whole dose of AML without dying, and Ed, our friend at the Bagel Emporium, he…"

Cody looked away, the smile on his face all but gone now.

"Sergei killed him, and showed me the head."

The two Lucarios looked at him in complete stupor, Rob only letting his head fall sadly as he already knew of this.

"He _decapitated _him? And he took the head with him?" asked Logan

"Yes. The moment I knew Sergei was a mercenary hailing from the shithole that is Orre, I should have told him to stop the investigation."

"Oh, stop that already!" barked Logan "How many times will we have to tell you that you're not at fault for whatever happened out there? I could understand for Lena, given that you thought you could have protected her, but that Ambipom knew the risks even better than you. He knew there was a chance to die on this shit, but he helped you anyways. You're gonna lament over that forever, or are you finally going to up your game and make him proud by catching the dealer?"

Cody was at a loss of words, clearly not used to Logan voicing his opinions to him this vehemently.

"I know it's hard, Cody, but seriously, you need to go on! If I had your reaction every time a close friend of mine died, my gang would have already put me down and dispose of the corpse. The more time you spend lamenting over inexistent mistakes, the more time you give the bastard who killed him to prepare himself and actually kill _you_ next time you meet."

"Well, when you put it like that…" couldn't help but snort Cody at Logan's words, finding the fact that a gang leader was actually trying to do the pep talk to a policeman, an officer, even, was actually pretty ironic. "Don't worry about that one. I had time to let it out of my system last night. I'm actually trying to research everything I can about my new… condition."

"And what did you do, then?" asked Rob, curious.

"Finding information about Groudon, Half-Bloods and Aura, for once" started Cody. "Luckily, my dear mother sent me way too much books about the Legends, so… That one is just a matter of time. What bothers me is that as of now, my body is way stronger, but I also tire out a lot more easily. Even worse, I don't have any kind of control over my new strength, so I tried to find some martial arts club, in order to learn focus and all that jumbo."

"I can't honestly believe you're thinking the answer lies in martial arts" said Lena as drily as she could without laughing. "Did you watch too many kung-fu movies, recently?"

"I will not grace that comment with an answer" came Cody's reply. "It's either that or learning how to paint, and somehow, I don't think Sergei will stop at me if I paint him an abstract art piece. Expect to laugh at me that is."

Cody now had to stop the picture of him painting during a gunfight with Sergei from staying in his mind.

"You know, sis" interrupted Logan, "he might be on something."

"Oh, come on, not you too, little brother!"

"We're tins, for fuck's sake…" muttered Logan before answering louder. "Actually, there is a rumor concerning an old martial artist hailing from Icirrus. People told me that he was seen in the vicinity of Dragonspiral Tower in the summer, and that while he was there, the residents heard strange sounds. And also that, one time, apparently without noticing he had an audience, said martial artist attacked with a ball of energy that crashed into a nearby tree, and exploded."

"Sounds awfully similar to a Focus Blast to me" said Cody. "You're guessing this man really can use Moves effectively?"

"If the rumors are true, yes."

"As much as I like the idea, we still have to find him. We know he is near Icirrus in summer, but right now we're in the middle of winter, and even with that out of the way, nothing says he will want to help us."

"I wouldn't be so sure. Because, you see, this man happen to be my former master in martial arts."

Everyone in the room save for Logan blinked.

"Ignoring the fact you apparently always have what we need the most at any given moment" began Lena, "how do you know the rumors are true? I'm sure you would have told me if you saw old master Jing perform attacks able to make trees crash down."

"I don't, although that would have explained why he would always beat us even after all those years of training under him. He probably used a Move that boosted his speed and reflexes. He always was too fast for someone of his age."

"Still worth to try" interrupted Rob. "I guess you have his number? And please don't tell he is the kind of old fool who hate the modern world and doesn't have a cellphone."

"Don't worry about that. He has one, and I can call him. Though we would better be convincing if we don't want him to end the call midway."

"We will take care of that later" said Cody. "Right now, we have someone to look for. What is more important…" he paused as he looked at Lena, down in her hospital bed. "How long the doctors said before you can get out?"

"Two days, at worst" said Lena.

"Two weeks, at best!" countered Logan. "I know you want to get back on the field, sis, but you're not getting out before the delay the doctors really gave you is over!"

"In two days, I will be back on my feet. I can feel my body growing stronger each hour, and I know I will be here."

"You can't recover from that in two days, Lena!"

"I can and I will! You won't force me to stay in bed while my two friends go out there and may risk their lives at any given moment!"

"And what happens about _yours_?" shrieked Logan.

The room stayed silent for a moment, before Logan carried on his explanation.

"I know you love your job, and you hate what's happening right now, with the whole case. But at least allow yourself to rest! If you don't, you will be too tired to notice yourself making a mistake, a misstep, and then…"

The male Lucario sniffed.

"I don't want you to see Dad and Mom again so soon, alright? I… I don't know what I would do without you, sis."

Lena looked at her brother with wary eyes.

"Logan… Are you afraid for me?"

"Of course I am!" came the instant reply. "I was always wary before, but I knew no one in the city could match your close-quarters skills expect for me, and you are a sure shot as well. But what we're dealing with right now… For Arceus' sake, Lena, the doctors weren't sure you would make it at first!"

Lena looked in shock at Logan, then at her friends, then back at Logan.

"…Really?" said she in a whisper.

"Yes. There were too many burnt tissues… Your heart was barely working… And we couldn't tell if there were internal injuries and how much, because your Steel-Type interfered with the scanners…"

"You never told us, Logan…" said quietly Rob, as shocked as Lena.

"You honestly had even bigger problems on your heads at the time. With the assholes running wild in the city… Well, at least you wouldn't have been distracted."

"Doesn't mean we wouldn't have liked for you to tell us" said Cody drily. "Because one of my best friend almost dying looks like a thing that is important to know."

"What is done, is done" interrupted Lena. "I'm here right now, still alive and almost kicking, so, stop arguing. We have more important matters to discuss right now, alright? Though I promise I will rest a little, brother" she added hastily. "I didn't know you were that afraid, and I won't pull you into a stat like that again."

"Thanks" said quietly Logan. "I appreciate it."

"Damn right, you are! So… About this whole 'Moves' thingy… Wait. Anna isn't here?"

Only now did Lena saw that the Scrafty wasn't anywhere near the hospital bed.

"I thought she was with you almost every time since the burning of Equality?" asked Rob.

"Yeah, that's weird" noticed Logan. "Wouldn't she be interested by our preparations?"

Cody sighed heavily, feeling the headache coming way sooner than he would have liked.

"She would, but we had a… little argument earlier, today."

*o*o*o*o*

_Castelia City_

_Edmond's apartment_

"I screwed up."

"That you did. Big time even."

"You are _not_ helping at all, Ed."

"I'm not going to put gloves for this, Anna. From what I heard, Cody is in love with you, but just isn't aware of it yet. And when he does something unusual only to please you, as in his unconscious, he wants you happy for no reason, you tell him to basically screw off. While _you_ are also infatuated with him."

The Shiftry clapped his leaf fans sarcastically as other Pokemon could have clapped their paws.

"Poor communication at its finest."

"Shut up" demanded weakly the mortified Scrafty.

"I guess it must feel rushed, given you know each other since so little time, but damn it, Anna, how did you ever thought receiving a collar from him was some kind of trap?"

"I overreacted. I _know_. You already told me about seven times by now."

"Maybe I should tell it seven times more. The only man, the _only_ you ever had lasting interest in, and you told him to screw off."

The Shiftry took another sip of his wine glass.

"I don't understand women."

"Must be why you're still single."

"And must be why you're also going to stay that way in the future" said Ed without missing a beat. "If you just had accepted this collar."

"How could I have known he did it out of genuine love?"

"I don't know, maybe the fact that you basically became his only confident as well as the person he is the closest to in the last week?"

"… You have a point" said glumly Anna.

"I know you had bad experiences with men in your line of work, but even despite my initial wariness at him, I'm sure Cody isn't the kind of man who invites women in his apartment often. Most likely never."

"…. You have a point. Again."

"What you're going to do is call him later, tell him you're sorry, arrange for a meeting, and ask him."

Anna looked at her friend as if he was insane.

"You want me to ask him bluntly if he wants to get in bed with me? Do you want my death?"

"It's either he likes you that way, and you both get happy, or he doesn't, you will be flustered for a minute, tell him you had so many bad experiences with men before you didn't notice he was actually nice enough to offer you a gift just out of kindness, and you stay friends. As of now, it's the best option."

"It's the only option, you mean!"

"No, you could also ignore him forever, stop working with him, and get stuck on the case you're in. It's your choice."

Anna sat on the sofa while moaning desperately.

"I'm gonna call him right now. And if that works, I'm asking you to come with me at the altar."

While she grabbed her phone, Ed did a double take.

"Wait. _What_?"

*o*o*o*o*

_Castelia City_

_Castelia's Hospital_

"Cody and Anna… sitting in a tree… K-I-S-S-I-N-G…"

If someone ever told Cody that one day, he would want to strangle one of his best friends to death, he would have beat the offender and thrown in jail for good measure.

Now, he wasn't so sure.

After the ninth time Lena sang the little song which annoyed Cody to no end, he wasn't sure at all.

And if Logan and Rob blocking their ears was any indication, they wouldn't be sure as well if they were asked the same thing.

"Alright, Lena, I got it. I'm crushing on Anna. So stop singing!"

"No way!" she laughed devilishly. "And missing out a once in a lifetime opportunity to tease you?"

"That's what friends are supposed to do, yes."

"You must know me pretty bad, then!"

And just like that, she began another round of singing. If Lena wasn't in a hospital bed right now, and if she hadn't help him sort out his actions of earlier today, he swore he could have hit her. Hard.

The conversation that followed his retelling of what happened at the mall had been… interesting. Between Rob's incomprehension at first, then happiness later, Logan pressing him to 'spill the beans' and Lena alternating between asking him questions that were way too accurate in his eyes, and teasing him like there was no tomorrow… It was a lot to take in.

Right now, however… Well, he was sure he never had as much a want of gagging someone with a pillow.

"Stop it Lena!" shouted her brother. "Stop acting like a damn schoolgirl right now, or I swear I'm calling the doctor to put you under morphin!"

"Mew, you two are no fun" said she while dramatically rolling her eyes. "It's not every day I got to tease little Cody here about his love life. Which had been almost inexistent until right now."

"Thank you…" mumbled Cody.

"More seriously, I do that because I'm happy. I mean, now that I heard the evidence, it's _obvious_ you two would make a wonderful couple!"

"Given that she is currently ignoring me right now, I wouldn't be so sure" said Cody.

"Oh, have a little faith. Phone her, tell her you want to talk about what happened, spill the bean, and done."

"You are not the one who's going to break her the news. Of course it's easy for you!"

"It's either that or you just stop seeing her. Which you probably don't want."

"I'm with her on that one" said Rob quietly.

"Not. Helping."

"Now, Cody" intervened Lena, "if you really want to be with her, you have to at least try. If you don't, either another man will grab her while you're not looking, or she will bottle her feelings, thinking _you_ don't like her, and, well… neither of you two will be happy."

"I get it, I get it. I was going to call her after visiting you to clear that incident up, anyways. At least I'm going to take care of that now."

And on those words, Cody dialed Anna's number.

*o*o*o*o*

_Castelia City_

_Edmond's apartment_

"Stop backing out of it!"

"I can't do this, Ed. I can't do this!"

Edmond was currently busy trying to force Anna into dialing Cody's number, and finally assuming her responsibilities. Anna, of course, was vividly against those attempts.

"Damn it, Anna, you promised me!"

"I will not ask him out. That never worked out for me, and that won't work out now, and you know it!"

"Of course it will not work out, because you're not even taking the chance! Call him!"

"Try and make m-

Anna's sentence was suddenly cut short when she heard the phone in her hand ringing. Exchanging a look with Ed, she looked at the screen, who displayed Cody's name.

"Oh, shit."

Edmond, seeing his advantage, pressed forward.

"Answer him, or I do it instead."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Are you really sure?"

Another ring was heard

"If in two seconds that phone isn't near your ear, I swear I'll do it."*

Anna only gulped as another ring got out of the phone. Only after another one, and when Ed began motioning the act of grabbing her phone, did she press Answer.

"Hey."

At first, she heard nothing on the other end of the line, but after a moment, Cody's reply came.

"_Hey. I just wanted to tell you that I was sorry for… you know what, earlier today, at the mall. I shouldn't have acted like I did._"

"I… I should apologize instead of you, Cody."

"_Huh?_"

"I talked about the whole… event with someone, and what got out of the conversation was that I… I kinda acted like an asshole to you. So, sorry about that."

"_Hey, wait, it's not really your fault, you know? I shouldn't have bought this collar without asking you first. That would have just been easier._"

"It _is_ my fault! You did nothing wrong, I overreacted based on my previous experiences, forgetting that you were nothing like them."

"… _What do you mean by 'experiences'?"_

Anna sighed deeply.

"I… have something to tell you, Cody. Something important."

"_Should I be scared?_" said the Krookodile with a soft chuckle, which Anna was sure was followed by a muted sound and then something along the line of 'don't throw the pillow at me'.

"That depends" bluntly answered the Scrafty.

"_To be honest with you, I have something to tell you, too. I guess you would want to be without anyone else but me for that, as it is very… personal._"

"My, my! Great minds think alike!" laughed Anna. "I was going to suggest we meet to speak in private somewhere, but you've been faster than me!"

"_What do you know? I'm proactive._"

"Sure you are" snorted she. "Did you have a place in mind?"

"_I was thinking of a bar in Downtown, near the harbor. A favorite among pier workers, and myself. That's near where I first step foot in Castelia some years ago, so I might be a bit biased about the place._"

"That sounds good for me. When do you want us to meet?"

"_Does this evening sounds good? I will send you the address by phone if you agree._"

"I'm free, so yes, I agree."

"_Cool. Great. Uuh… Wonderful. So… see you later?_"

"See you later."

Anna hanged out, and she couldn't resist but do a fistpump in the air to celebrate. Ed moaned in the distance, complaining about how he would never understand women;

*o*o*o*o*

_Castelia City_

_Castelia's Hospital_

Cody held the phone, now not calling anymore, and looked at his friends around the room.

"She said yes. So, do any one of you know what I need to do, now?"


	10. Chapter 10 : The Date

**Hey there! Darren here, with another chapter, at last. Praise Helix, my friends!**

**Seriously, my schedule have been really hectic recently, and I apologize for not uploading this sooner. I was stuck with writer's block, then there was the winter break for us French people where I didn't have my laptop with me, and then the university kicked in again, and it was hard.**

**But enough apologizing, what happens in the story right now? Well, the chapter's name MIGHT be a small clue ^^ I had a blast writing this chapter, believe me, and I hope you will as much of a blast when reading it :) Not telling you anything else, I don't want to ruin the surprise.**

**With that said, this chapter is a bit shorter than the last one (still 7,5k words, though, which is nice for you guys), but is still heavy enough I would advise you to read it without interruption if possible.**

**Hope you guys all like it, read and review, and thanks to you all for reading!**

*o*o*o*o*

_Castelia City_

_Ocean Piers District_

To say Anna was nervous when she parked her motorcycle in a public car park near the address was an understatement. The Scrafty was having difficulty keeping away the little voice telling her that all her efforts were for nothing, that this whole dinner had no chance of leading to something more, that she was going to regret it like she did the last time.

Shaking her head as if hoping said voice would go away, she hopped off her bike, grabbed her bag, and secured her bike against thefts, before getting out.

The sunset's light radiated on the whole Ocean Piers District, sailors discharging merchandise from last-minute arriving boats in the distance. She could see a variety of boats, ranging from merchandise transporters, to private luxury yachts, to cruise boats, and so on.

She had to admit, the vision of the sea reflecting the last sunrays past the boats and the cranes made for a lovely sight. She wasn't interested by that however. Looking once more at the address Cody sent her, she went to look at the panels in hope of finding the street she was supposed to be in, and to her delight, found she actually was in.

Walking while taking in the sight of the piers, she halted herself when she noticed something: placed between two buildings lied a small park, which itself sheltered a medium-sized restaurant.

Knowing she was at the right place, Anna took time to look at her surroundings. The restaurant's name was The Sailor's Delight, and gave a homely feel about it. Unlike a lot of restaurants trying to play the 'seaside' trick to attract customers, the Delight had a rather simple façade, plain old brick walls, with windows of course breaking the sea of red. The upper part of the restaurant supported some kind of rail, which had the name of the restaurant painted on it.

Walking along the path leading through the entrance, Anna stopped a little to look what was behind the windows. She could see a typical restaurant's dinner room, tables of variable size of course being set, while two waiters passed by, taking back dirty dishes, bringing in the meals, correcting a mistake in the setting of the table and taking the orders.

She had to do a double take, however, when she saw Cody already being placed, and nervously tapping his claws on the table. He couldn't see her, as he had his back turned to the window, but she could see him, and she had to suppress a schoolgirl-like giggle at the Krookodile's nervousness. He was definitely good at reading other people's emotions, but he couldn't hide his. Deciding it was better not to let him wait, she pushed the entrance door, which caused a bell to ring, announcing her entrance.

She saw in the corner of her eye Cody turning to look at her. She didn't focus on that, however, as she could see a female Milotic, one of the waiters, sliding on the ground towards her.

"Welcome to the Sailor's Delight, miss. Do you have a reservation?"

The Milotic's voice was soothing. Anna could almost feel her worries dissipate upon hearing it. Almost.

"I do" she replied. "Under the name of Sunders."

"Oh, so you are Cody's friend!" she exclaimed giddily.

Anna frowned a little upon hearing the news. She certainly wasn't expecting the waiters to know Cody on a first name basis.

"Come, I will lead you to your table! Follow me, please!"

Shockingly fast, she slid towards Cody's table, and Anna followed. Once they arrived, she could see they were to sit in one of the corners of the restaurant, a table for two dressed before her, and Cody sitting behind it.

"Please, make yourself comfortable. I will be back with the menus shortly."

The Milotic went to depart after that, and the Scrafty thief sat in front of Cody. The krookodile had an interesting facial expression, mixing happiness, anticipation, apprehension, fear and resolve all at once. The two stayed silent for a moment, studying the other a bit, before Cody spoke first.

"Glad you could make it."

"Well, I told you I was booking my afternoon for this. That would have been rude of my part not to come."

"True, true" chuclked the cop. "But still."

Dismissing the sentence with a handwave, Anna changed the subject.

"So. Do you come here often? Because apparently the waiters know you by name."

"Oh yeah, I used to. Less often than I went to Ed's bagel shop, but in my first years here, it was my canteen."

"Alright, one mystery in less. The evening begins nicely."

A snort from the Krookodile.

"With a little bit of luck, we might be able to find the treasure of the Pirate Captain buried in the park before the night is over" joked he.

The laughter calmed down, when the Milotic came back with their menus ensnared in her tail.

"There you go" said she while she gave the menus to the two Dark-Types.

"Thanks, Sally" said the cop, which earned him a small smile from the Milotic.

Looking at the menu, Anna couldn't believe the choice there was: dishes from Hoenn to Kalos, Berries salads, vegan meat…

"Wait… They're selling Magikarp filet? As in, real Magikarp?"

"Yeah, they actually have a contract with the owner of one of the last few feral Pokémon farms. Mightily expensive though."

"The moral implications on eating a member of our kind, feral as it may be, are just a little bit… I don't know, weird?"

"Pokemon that stayed completely feral after humans disappeared have been proved to be too dumb to ever become civilized. As far as the law goes, as long they're not produced _en masse_, it's all good. But I'm not really a fan, either."

"You did tell me you were a vegetarian."

The two Dark-Types pondered over the menu for a moment, wondering which dish they should take. After a moment, and upon seeing Anna had her mind set as well, Cody motioned for Sally to take their orders, which she did happily, her tail coiled in a position that allowed her to hold a plate.

"Alright, guys, what will it be?"

While she asked them, she managed to use the fins above her eyes to hold a pencil and a notebook.

"Nice trick you got there, now, Sal" said Cody. "Last time I came here, you weren't able to use them that way."

"Thanks" she said, beaming with joy. "It was a bit hard to come by, but I managed. And the boss even paid for the classes, so it's all good for me!"

"But how could you take orders before, if you couldn't hold a pencil that way?" asked Anna, interested at the exchange.

"I couldn't. I had to ask the customers to write what they wanted themselves. And if they couldn't as well, I asked to a colleague."

"It's kinda easy to forget not all Pokémon are bipedal with arms sometimes" added Cody. "That did pose problem to some people I knew with how we took the human society without changing it a little bit to adapt to everyone."

"And now I have it easy!" said the Milotic. "When I was a Feebas, I couldn't even go that far outside of the water without dehydrating myself. I had to wear those silly protection suits with an aquarium placed inside just to live outside of the ocean."

"Yeah, I remember seeing one of them, once" said Anna. "I agree, they look like some kind of cyborg from a bad sci-fi flick. Though it must be a lifesaver for some Water-Types. I couldn't imagine living all my life under the sea, not able to see the rest of the world once."

"Especially since underwater settlements are just _way_ behind what the land has to offer in term of facilities. We don't even have electricity yet! The biggest sea-cities are the size of some lost village in south-eastern Unova, like Accumula Town. Needless to say, whenever someone evolves, they get to the surface as soon they can!"

"I remember we had a little more progress on that point in Hoenn, but that's because half of the region is sea. Have you looked at the Lilycove Tunnel I told you about?"

"Yeah, since last time, I looked it up. Man, they're so lucky there, they managed to build a direct sea-land access for Water-Types, and they even managed to build a mall inside it. A _mall_! Underwater!"

"Well, given Unova's seafronts are a lot less prolific than in Hoenn, it was to be expected to not have that kind of thing going on in Castelia" said Anna. "Though I did hear about something in Humilau they were planning, like some kind of open resort for every Pokemon, regardless of their habitat."

"I heard about it too. But they're just in the conception phase right now, we might not see this place before fifteen years at least."

Remembering she was supposed to take orders, Sally shook her head, and went back to the main topic. Anna ordered a Berry Salad, while Cody took a vegan Basculin filet.

"How do they know what a Basculin taste like and make an imitation out of it, if they never served a real one, here?"

Anna's question came when Sally was out of earshot.

"I don't know, but I don't think they killed some to have a comparative" chuckled the cop.

"I will still stick with my salad, thank you very much."

"Pfft. Herbivores."

"I am an omnivore, for your information. A lot of the species are, in the end, because, well, did you ever saw a Pokémon not liking a Berry?"

"Now that you mention it, I even saw Ghost-Types eating them. They're already dead, but they still eat them. That is really weird."

"One of them told me they actually needed to eat, because their metabolisms were as alive as ours. In fact, if they use their spectral properties, like passing through walls, too much, they will need to eat even more than a Wailord, for some."

"I actually learned something from you! Arceus bless this day, you said something intelligent for once!"

"Oh, Mew" chuckled Anna "You really _are_ an idiot."

"No I'm sarcastic. Given my colleagues, I had to elevate this to a form of art."

"Sarcasm is art, now" said the Scrafty in a very unconvinced tone. "Did a museum about it open some time ago?" She took a snobbish accent in the next sentence. "Maybe a retrospective about the life of Cody Sunders and his best lines at the Castelian Gallery? My, what a simply _wonderful_ thing it would be!"

Cody burst into laughter at the imitation, before desperately trying to quiet himself, remembering where he actually was, to little avail.

Once the initial outburst was passed, and Cody and Anna, who started laughing soon after the cop, calmed themselves, they regained their composure.

"Okay, you win this round, Miss Orwell."

"Don't bother. I won the whole war, Mister Sunders. I am the true mistress of sarcasm and crappy imitations."

"Wow, I'm scared." Cody's tone was so dry it could have made ocean evaporate. "More seriously, I don't even know where did you pick this accent. It's just too hilarious."

"From you, actually. Your imitation back on the boat was so crappy, I told myself I needed to have a better one by the week. It wasn't hard, by the way."

"Shut up. I'm not an imitator."

"I agree. You would make a better clown than imitator, that's for sure."

The Krookodile snorted.

"Of course, a sad clown. Cops' jokes usually involve legist's stuff, and are actually not funny at all."

"Tell me something I wouldn't know by watching a cop flick on TV" replied Anna. "Are you seriously going to do _all_ the clichés you can?"

"Depends. Would you like it?"

"No."

"Then, I will."

"I knew you were an asshole."

"You're just flattering me, now."

Anna's reply would have been even less dignified if Sally didn't came back with their meals in a plate over her long tail.

"A Berry Salad and a vegan Basculin Filet. You're all set!"

The two Dark-Types thanked her, and pushing aside their previous battle of wits, began eating. While Cody only had a content look on his face, not expecting any surprises in his meal, Anna had to do a double take at the first fork of salad, however. Simply said, her meal was really good, and she clearly didn't expect to see this much quality in her meal.

"It's good. Real good" she said while eating another mouthful.

"I know. Rumor has it some cinema stars passing by Castelia stop here incognito just to eat the meals."

"Given the prices I saw, this isn't surprising. That place is cheap!"

"Why do you think I came here at first? Upon arriving, I was completely broke. This was the only place where I could get a good meal for cheap. And also one of the only places that accepted to serve me in the first place."

"The owner isn't a complete discriminatory asshole, then?"

"He hails from Kanto. They don't have that problem with Dark-Types back at home."

The two fell silent for a moment, enjoying their meal. But once a new conversation couldn't be started, a slight uneasiness fell on the two Dark-Types. The reason being, their respective crush was sitting right in front of the other, and the moment soon became incredibly awkward as time went by.

_Damn it_, thought Cody, _this is just too weird. Why did I invite her in the first place? I'm just going to humiliate myself. I can't go on with a 'Hey, I love you!' for Arceus' sake! What am I going to do?_

_I should never have accepted to come here_, thought Anna. _He isn't interested in me. This is not going to work out. I'm just going to take another slap to the face and I will be said 'wake up dumbass, love is not for you!' Oh, no, what if he laughs at me? In front of everyone? And this just too awkward right now. I need to think of something to talk about. Think, girl, think!_

"We have a lovely weather this evening."

_Damn you, myself! Is this really all you could think about?_

If she could, she would have strangled herself for being so stupid.

"Yeah… Not too cloudy, cold but not chilling, it's neat."

_Whoah. Great answer, there, Cody. Not too chilling, in November? Are you dumb?_

The two Dark-Types fell into uneasy silence yet again. Some time went by, before Cody decided he had enough to wait, and cleared his throat, gaining Anna's full attention in the process.

"Alright, I delayed this for too long" said Cody. "I didn't invite you just to talk about the weather. I... I have something to tell you Anna."

The thief grew even tenser, if that was possible, and locked eyes with the cop.

"It's about the mall, isn't it."

It wasn't a question.

"Yes. It is. And about why did it happen."

"Look, Cody, I'm sorry about that. I overreacted, I shouldn't have snapped like that. It's just..."

She paused for a moment

"I'm just not used to people being that nice around me. Sure, at Equality, I have some friends, but I look after them, not the other way around. I... I don't know how to react to how you're just treating me."

He didn't knew how or why it happened, but a small part of Cody wept upon hearing this.

"Hey, relax, that's new for me as well! I did screw up with the collar part. I... really did not think about the consequences. At all."

Pregnant silence carried on at the dinner table, the two Dark-Types watching each other intently, before Cody resumed.

"I thought about it later in the day, and, with the help of some friends, I understood something."

"And that something is the important thing you wanted to tell me about."

"That's about it."

"Well now that's cleared, I... I have something to confess as well. But you talked about yours first, so, go ahead."

"No, no" said the cop hurriedly, "Please begin, yours looks like important."

"Yours does, too! You go first."

The two paused for a moment, before they erupted in laughter.

"Legends, we're so stupid" said Anna. "Look at us, trying to delay as much as possible."

"Yeah" added Cody, "talk about something important to tell. We're not even going anywhere."

"So... You want to go first, or...?"

"I do. I did talk about it first, after all."

Cody cleared his throat, and carried on.

"What happened at the mall wasn't something I stopped to think about. I just saw you eyeing that collar, and suddenly, I wanted you to have it. The truth is that I didn't even thought about what would happen after that, so I was taken a little bit by surprise by your outburst."

Cody did a dry chuckle at that.

"The point is that, when I came back upon it, I understood I did it because I just wanted to see you smile. We both know the last days have been rough, to say the least, and... And despite the permanent jesting contest we had on our way, it wasn't the same. I missed the times we just could laugh without a care in the world, where we treated the case as some bad episode of a stupid serial passing on TV, where we just had fun. I missed your smile, simply put.

That's when I had another revelation. That's not the thoughts someone has over another, normally. You could say you miss the happy times you had with someone, that you could miss having fun... But not that you missed their smiles. But for you, I did. Even though I have only known you for less than a month, I did.

Anna, I think I like you. I like you like I never did before. This may seem sudden, stupid, but I do. I realize now I want to be with you. I first felt it when we met actually, and it only went downhill as we spent time together. Offering a place to stay to a notorious thief? Confessing my whole life story to her without a second thought? I honestly was blind not seeing the signs sooner. I am completely smitten with you. And whether you feel the same or not with me... I needed to get that out. I needed you to know."

Cody finally stopped talking, and took a deep breath.

"…That was cheesy."

Cody gagged upon hearing this sentence, while Anna let out a laugh.

"I just told you I wanted to date you, and that's your answer?"

"No. My answer is that I'm still processing what you just told me, while my subconscious is dancing samba."

"… You know this is still not an answer, right?"

Anna's face went near Cody's, who moved towards Anna unconsciously as well.

"Here is my answer, then, idiot." And she kissed him.

*o*o*o*o*

Needless to say, the rest of the dinner went splendidly. Once the initial awkwardness was over, the duo just ate while exchanging sweet nothings and jabbing the other at their poor communication skills on the whole ordeal

"Damn, you really are a dork, when I think about it" said Anna, not willing to let Cody go away with everything he did wrong in his life despite their new relationship status. "You didn't even ask yourself why you were so comfortable around me. That would have been frustrating if it wasn't so adorable."

"Well, at least, I didn't bottle up my feelings" said Cody, not willing to let his new girlfriend get the upper hand. Especially after she revealed she became aware of her feelings for him much sooner than the opposite, but did nothing to act on them. "This wasn't a good idea, and even I, world's number one expert on how not to start a relationship, know that."

"Cute. You think you actually have a chance at beating me at this. Did I ever tell you it was so adorable to see you try?"

"I will show you adorable, babe."

Anna did a disgusted face, and Cody knew he just scored.

"You didn't seriously call me babe. I thought you were more refined than that!"

"Oh, I take it you prefer to be called 'mah gurl'?" said the cop with a thuggish accent on the last part.

"No, no, no, no, no! I already told you it's either a personal nickname, or you called me Anna. I'm not being called like a downtown junkie would call his plan for the night."

"Understood, babe."

Anna only let out a disheartened grunt as an answer.

"Alright, alright" chuckled the cop. "I will stop. You're cuter when you smile, anyways."

"And now I won't be able to stay mad at you. You are evil."

"No, just being playful."

As an apology, Cody's head went over the table, and gently kissed the Scrafty's forehead.

"Wouldn't dare to try and hurt my girlfriend's feelings, now. I'm too much in love to even think about that."

"The worse in this is that I believe you."

"I thought the worse was that you would now have guilt sleeping with other men on your job?"

The thief had a startled reaction at that, because she wasn't expecting Cody to highlight that point, especially since she didn't mentioned it once during the dinner.

"It isn't, because I do not intend to keep doing this. I want us to be a real thing, and frankly, I will manage doing the effort."

Cody felt a rush of warmth and relief wash over him at this, glad to hear his girlfriend was willing to make her job that more difficult just for him.

"Alright, you love-Pidgeys" interrupted a new voice, which quickly revealed itself to be Sally's. "I really hate to interrupt you, but you did order a dessert, and there is this teensy little rule saying I must serve you what you ordered."

The sarcasm in the Milotic's voice was as dry as the ocean was wet, but even then, she couldn't stop the happy tone making it through, feeling joyful at her friend's newfound love life. Plus, the way they interacted was so adorable, she would have squee'd hadn't she been at work

"So here you go with your twin brownies. Honestly, you took the same dessert. You are so made for each other."

Proving her point involuntarily, the two Dark-Types reacted the same way: rolling their eyes at the Milotic, which only made her giggle.

"Have fun!" she said in a singsong voice while departing.

Cue the couple doing exactly just that, which meant they tried to torture each other.

"I thought of 'my little princess' as a nickname. You like it?"

"Codyyy!"

*o*o*o*o*

Despite the intense verbal jousting the couple did for the rest of the dinner, they got out of the restaurant under each other's arm, Anna's head resting slightly upon Cody's shoulder.

"This is officially the best dinner I ever went to" said the Scrafty thief. "Very good choice of restaurant, love."

"I would have confessed in a fast-food, you would still say that" joked her boyfriend.

"Maybe..." she slurred, trying to act mysterious and failing horribly.

"I love you, Anna" said Cody while holding a little closer the thief.

"I love you too, moron."

Cody only snorted at this.

"I should better get used to that name calling though. I know us being a thing will only make you harder on me."

"You got that right!" laughed she.

The two then stayed silent for a moment, before Cody motioned her towards the pier, which surprised Anna.

"Cody? It's night, where are you taking us?"

"I want to show you something."

Without another word, the cop took Anna down the stairs of the pier, still holding his girlfriend's hand as he ran down the stairs, apparently very excited to show what he wanted to. The couple walked for a bit afterwards until Cody stopped in front of an apparently unnoticeable dock.

"This the place where I landed in Castelia five years ago."

Anna waited for an explanation, and upon hearing none, voiced her question.

"That's what you wanted to show me?"

"Not at all. Look behind you."

Anna did so, and understood all at once why Cody made her come here.

What she witnessed was Castelia City in all its nightly splendor, skyscrapers illuminating the night in all their splendor. The lights were reflected upon the water, adding to the surreal panorama. Adding even more to the setting were the sounds coming from the city, bursting with life even at this hour.

"Are you alright there?"

Cody's injunction brought back Anna to her senses, who didn't even realize she had been lost in thought.

"Cody, this is... This is amazing! I lived here since my birth, and I didn't even know Castelia could be this beautiful..."

"That was the very first thing I saw of Castelia. After the brutal call back to reality I had in the police force, I didn't come back since today. I thought I was way too angry at the city's general state to appreciate the sight. But now, I am metaphorically flying on a little cloud, and I wanted to share that with you. I'm feeling the same way I was back then. Just happy and hopeful."

"You told me the sights were the only thing keeping you here. But this... I just don't know what to say."

"How about 'I love you'? Seems a pretty good thing to say from the new thing keeping me here."

"Alright. I love you, dumbass."

"... We're making progress" shrugged Cody, while embracing, Anna, pulling her into a tender kiss.

The two stayed that way for a few seconds, before departing from each other's mouth, but keeping the embrace, enjoying the view in front of them. Until Anna noticed the very serious look on Cody's face. She expected a question from him at a moment's notice, and she wasn't disappointed.

"Say, Anna, do you believe me when I say I know we can close this case once and for all?"

The thief decided to stop acting sarcastic, and told him what she really thought.

"I do. We can do it, Cody. I believe you, I trust you, and I love you. Nothing can stop us, and if they try, good luck to them. We both survived this place solo for years, and now that we're doing it together, they're no chance in the Distortion World I let some psycho destroy our lives."

Cody smiled at her, the kind of smile that wasn't all out, but held even more significance, the one that meant the Krookodile was really happy with what he heard. Anna noticed a look in the cop's eyes she never saw. She noticed hope.

"I think I just fell in love even harder."

Without another word, he gently motioned for a kiss, which Anna gladly accepted.

"Fancy night we're having right now, isn't it?"

The third voice came as if out of nowhere, which startled the couple, and made them gag on their kiss. They broke the embrace, and began looking around, searching for whomever could have talked. Soon enough, they both looked towards the stairs they passed by earlier, and saw the speaker. An Electivire wearing a black jacket, his arms inside the pockets, a calm smile on his face. His two tails were curiously lacking the red ends usually present in Electivires. Over the black dot on his forehead was tattooed a stylized representation of the Legend Thunderus. Upon seeing the intruder, Anna's face instantly paled

"What are you doing here?"

"Come now, Anna. You didn't think I couldn't escape the jail you threw me in, did you?"

"Do you two know each other?" asked a confused Cody.

"And you must be Anna's boyfriend, if I am not mistaken! Truly, it is a pleasure to see my best student having some pleasures in life, despite the recent calamities."

"You lost the right to call me like that when you bet me to Big Slynt" said a very angry Anna. "We got out of each other's life, and that's for the better."

"And you lost the right to be defiant towards me when you spit on me, and threw me in jail. That was not a smart move on your part."

"Maybe, but at the time it felt immensely satisfying."

Anna was losing her paleness as she spoke, instead growing angrier and angrier at her interlocutor. Cody suddenly remembered why the story told in front of him was so familiar.

"Don't tell me he is your old mentor you threw in jail."

"He is my old mentor I threw in jail."

"Oh, crud."

"Look at my tails" continued the Electivire "If you pay attention, I do not have the red tips anymore. My jailers cut them. It hurt. A lot."

"So? You think it wouldn't have hurt if I had let Slynt have his way with me? At least, I know you weren't violated by other inmates, you're strong enough to avoid that. And how did you even get out of jail?"

"Granted. I agree you could have been far less civil with me if you had wanted. I am grateful for it, really. And I'm out of jail because of good behavior. Thoughts of vengeance helped me refrain the urge to be a nuisance to the guards."

"Fine, then. If you're grateful, leave us alone so we can enjoy the rest of the night without your face ruining it."

The Electivire only laughed at this, before shaking his head as if scolding Anna, still smiling.

"Oh, Anna. You really thought I wouldn't try to exact vengeance after what you did?"

Upon saying this, the Electivire snapped his fingers, and two other Pokemon descended the stairs. A Golem and an Excadrill, both of them wearing casual clothing, but with the added particularity to have an inmate number displayed prominently on one of their left arm. Upon further examination, Cody noticed the Electivire had a number as well.

"Do you remember Alec and John, Anna? Two people working for me you also threw in jail with me. Your coworkers. Dare I say it? Your former friends."

"I remember them as the worst bags of shit I ever saw, for sure. Namely because they tried to have their way with me one time you weren't at the hideout."

"Careful, princess" said the Golem, which made Anna snort. "Alec and I never liked it when you called us names."

"I am free of you, better than you, I have more money than you, and I don't give a fuck about what you think is a turn-on, John. Get fucked by a Wailord, maybe that will teach you one thing or two about anatomy and your sexual orientation."

John went livid at this, shooting Anna a murderous glance, while Alec only snickered, and their leader stayed silent. After a very short pause, the Electivire resumed talking.

"I am grateful for not killing me outright. Which means, instead of murdering you, I am only going to beat you two hard enough to go to the hospital, and then, I will take you back, Anna, and you will help me regain what you made me lose. If you behave well enough, I may even not rough you up too much, should you present an apology of course. As for what Alec and John are going to do with you once we're over, though, well it's up to them to feel merciful. As for you" said he while addressing Cody, "We do not have a grudge against you, Officer Sunders. Should you go on your way, we will act as if we never even see you."

Alec and John got out a baseball bat and a pair of fist weapons, respectively, while their leader took out a taser.

"So, your answer? You have one minute."

Cody and Anna immediately looked at each other, and upon seeing Anna's clearly worried face, Cody grew uneasy, although he already knew he was _not_ going to abandon Anna in this.

"I take it they're no pushovers?"

"Not at all. They all know how to use their weapons, and of course I don't have my gun on me. Same for you?"

"Same for me. Surrendering isn't an option, of course."

"No, it's not."

"Time's up" announced the Electivire, cutting short their tactical meeting. "What's your answer?"

Cody and Anna looked at each other uneasily once again, until Cody suddenly had an illumination, and called back to the Electivire.

"Before that, can I at least know your name?" asked Cody.

"I guess I can tell you. The name is Callum. Why do you ask?"

"I like to know the names of the people I'm about to beat up. Helps making it feel a bit more personal."

Anna looked at Cody as if he suddenly went mad.

"What are you even doing there?!" whispered Anna.

"We got a funny one, boys" said Callum. "Let's see if he is so cocky once we break his jaw, shall we?"

And then, the trio of thugs advanced towards the cop, who still held a cocky smirk.

"Cody, I know you're strong, but even you will have problems against the three of them. Do you even have a plan?"

"I do. Figuring if I can do the same thing I did to Sergei."

Anna looked at him with a questioning look on her face, before understanding dawned on her.

"Oooooh, this is so unfair for them. Don't kill them, but don't fear to break a bone or two. They're assholes."

Upon both realizing they actually were in a way less dire situation than they first thought, the mood between the two Dark-Types improved significantly.

"I promise I won't hurt them. Much."

Meanwhile, the three thugs walked towards Cody, who advanced as well upon seeing this. John was the first to arrive on Cody, impatient, and swung his bat at Cody's head, hitting hit.

The cop didn't even flinch, and then grabbed the bat as well, with John too surprised to react fast enough.

"Didn't your mommy teach you it was rude to swing baseball bats at something else than a baseball ball?"

He then applied pressure to the bat, which snapped in two cleanly and effortlessly. John took the half he still had in his paws, looking at it with a dumbfounded look, before looking back at Cody.

"Bad boys have their toys taken away. Don't take it too personally."

Cody's patronizing tone was enough to get the Golem out of his stupor, and he yelled some kind of battle cry before trying to punch Cody. The latter did a sidestep without even moving his arms, and then grabbed John's head in one of his paws.

The other two thugs stopped at this for a moment, and were quite shocked to hear next John crying like a girl, without any apparent action from Cody's part. Until they saw Cody lifting the Golem by the head effortlessly, and said Golem's head turning a disturbingly bright orange shade.

"It burns! It burns! Make it stop, please, please!"

"Since you asked nicely…"

And then, to the shock of everyone expect the cop, the Golem suddenly found itself slammed onto the ground head first, visible cracks in the pier's stone visible at the impact point. Callum and Alec did a step backwards on instinct. Cody then took the Golem, now unconscious, by the head again, and threw it at his two partners, which quickly avoided the incoming projectile while muttering curses.

"Aim to kill Alec" said Callum to the Exadrill. "I'll put my taser to the max setting."

Alec nodded, before turning back to Cody, only for the former to widen his eyes in fear as he ducked under an incoming attack from Cody. Dodging narrowly, Alec dove to the ground, hoping to escape the Krookodile's assault long enough to get back on his feet and have a clean opening to strike him with his claws.

This never happened however, because instead of stopping his movement after his claw swipe, Cody used the momentum to spin on himself, and plant said claws into the back of the still grounded Excadrill, who let out a yell of pain. Cody would have went in for a complete beating, if Callum hadn't intervened. The Electivire charged at him with his taser at the ready, aiming for Cody's heart. The Krookodile retracted from his downed opponent, and sidestepped out of the way of the attack.

Callum cursed once more, raging as the fight he started himself was quickly turning far harder than anticipated. Seeing Alec get back up, despite the concerning lines of red flowing down his back, and striking at the cop again, the Electivire decided to change tactics.

Just as he saw a seemingly defenseless Anna, still in the sidelines, watching the fight with z miw of curiosity and concern. Until she heard the taser coming back to life, that is.

Seeing her old mentor in front of her, Anna quickly adopted a fighting stance, preparing to avoid all of Callum's attacks until Cody was done with his job, which, judging by the yelps of Alec, was going along nicely.

"I will have what I came here for."

"You're welcome to try."

With that said, the two thieves began, Callum lunging towards the Scrafty, aiming for the head in order to stun her, while the Scrafty predicted this and caught the Electivire's arm in her paws. Locking the weapon in position, Anna was prepared to twist Callum's arm, until his other arm flew at a deceptive speed, and hit her in the jaw.

She bit down a yell, and prepared to get Callum off her back, until the Electivire did the same thing, striking once more in the jaw. This time, Anna's grip on the Electric-Type's arm faltered, and seeing his chance, Callum pressed on, the taser coming way closer to Anna's face than it was before. Cursing at herself for getting into that situation, Anna braced herself for the next impact.

Which never came, since suddenly, Callum was pulled back from Anna. Cody grabbed his body before slamming it in the ground. Before long, the cop kneeled to Callum's side, grabbed his head in one paw, and slammed it one more time, and then once more. It continued for about five seconds, before Cody stopped. Meanwhile, Anna could see Alec being knocked out cold, drool coming out of his mouth.

Surprisingly, Callum got back up almost instantly, although his face now had nasty bruises, an open cut, a bloodshot eye, and some jaws missing. Groggiliy trying to aim his taser right at Cody, the Electivire did a final attempt at victory, which Cody didn't doge.

Not that he had to, since the taser hit him in the chest, and he reacted with a look of pure boredom painted on his face. Cody replied to Callum's attack in kind, taking him by the throat and hurling it straight at a lamppost, which Callum took in the face, once again. He quickly lost consciousness once he hit the ground, after the impact.

In all the fight nearly took thirty seconds. Three strong criminals, getting their asses handed by a disarmed cop off duty in thirty seconds.

"Sorry, love, but I will have to call the station to pick them up. Then, we will go back to our romantic evening."

"Sure" said Anna, a little bit too shocked to her tastes.

Cody went to the three bodies, took them to one place where he placed them side by side, not before tying the three of them with some ropes that were conveniently lying by. Once he was done, he took out his phone to call the station.

"A wonderful performance, Mr Sunders. Truly, your rising reputation does you great justice."

Anna and Cody looked up at each other, startled, and then searched for someone else over the pier.

"Over here" said the new voice.

Before any of them had a chance to react, Cody heard a sound, like a whistle, passing by his right ear, and next thing he knew, he suddenly felt pain in his right shoulder.

Grabbing it while whimpering in pain, he looked at it to notice a red line crossing it, blood coming out of it in small droplets already. The cut was thin and not too deep, judged the cop.

That's when he heard another time the sound, and this time, as if on instinct, he tilted his body to the right, hearing the sound passing by his left ear. A dull noise was heard on the ground about a feet behind him, as well as Anna's curse. Looking back, the Krookodile saw his girlfriend having a cut on her shoulder as well, the left this time.

Cody rushed past her, asking if she was alright, to which she nodded, and then looked at the small object lying on the ground. It was a play card.

Cody took it, and upon examination, saw a very small pinkish taint on a side of the card. The motifs were pretty standard, like any you would find on any deck of cards in any casino in the world. What was surprising was that the card suddenly began to shake, and flew off Cody's hand, right into the air.

And upon turning back, the two Dark-Types saw the card went back to a deck, placed in the paw of a Raichu. Said Raichu had an odd attire: he was clothed very formally, just like a dealer would be in a good casino in Driftveil City. The Raichu had a calm smile on his face, and unlike Callum's one, it didn't pass by as arrogant. He played with the cards he had in his hand, blending them, cutting them. And the weirdest was that he was sitting on a lamppost three meters above the ground whiler there was no one here minutes ago, and nobody heard him coming.

"It's a pleasure to meet you two. Your actions on the Grand Unova did the tour of the city, after all."

"Cut to the point. What do you want?" said Anna, not liking this Raichu who apparently had the guts to slice at them with play cards.

"Me? I want nothing. Honestly, meeting you two would be reason enough to be here. I mean, it's not that often one gets to meet a fellow Half-Blood, after all."

Cody's blood froze. He looked at the Raichu as if he was responsible for all the strife in the world.

"Then, what does your _Master_ want?" spat he in the face of the Raichu.

"Oh. Then, you know I work for someone else. What a shame, and here I hoped we could keep on the nice chat we were having."

The Raichu smile dropped at this, appearing honestly sad about this outcome.

"Because, you see, my Master doesn't appreciate what you are trying to do to his business. And as such, he tasked me to find you two."

"No doubt with end goal being us lying in the pool made by our own blood" drily remarked Anna

"Oh, dear Arceus, no!" cried the Raichu. "What an utterly barbaric thing it would be! I would never do that. However, it is true that I was ordered with your utter and final demise."

He stopped playing with his cards, and jumped down the lamppost, landing perfectly on his two feet without a moment taken to catch breath. He took his whole deck by one hand, which then glowed a bright yellow, and made the cards hover slightly over said hand.

"I, Blackjack, Half-Blood of Thundurus, have been tasked to kill you."


End file.
